SGEN XMLSerializer - should be .XMLSerializers.dll added as a reference to the current project or to the GAC?

Question

I do some stuff with XMLSerializer class. Like a most of beginners I face with performance issue on app start. I read a lot of blogs, articles and finally use SGEN tool. Now

Answer 1

If you don't use the /type argument for sgen.exe then it will generate de/serialization code for all public types in the assembly. Note that the [Serializable] attribute is not used in XML serialization. I doubt you'd want this, use /type to keep the generated assembly small.

Adding a reference is not necessary, Xml serialization always tries an Assembly.Load() on the .XmlSerializers.dll assembly anyway. Plus, you'll never reference the generated XmlSerializationWriterXxx and XmlSerializationReaderXxx classes directly in your code. It does have one advantage, the build system will automatically copy the assembly when you include the project in a solution.

Installing it in the GAC is only worth considering when different apps serialize and deserialize the XML file. You can provide other apps with the .XmlSerializers.dll assembly by copying the assembly by hand as well. Which is a bit error prone, use your own judgment here. Check the previous paragraph for a way to automate the copy.