xmltodynamic's Introduction

XmlToDynamic

XmlToDynamic converts your XML object into a hierarchy of nested objects, so you can get at values and attributes more easily.

Instead of this:

xelement.Element(XName.Get("contact")).Attribute(XName.Get("firstName")).Value

You can type this:

xelement.contact["firstName"]

The object returned is also dynamic, so you can add new properties on-the-fly.

Usage

To dynamize your XML, simply generate an XElement of it, then call ToDynamic() on it.

var xmlString = @"<?xml version=""1.0"" encoding=""UTF-8""?><blah></blah>";
var dynamicXml = XElement.Parse(xmlString).ToDynamic();

Values

The elements get converted to properties, and their values can be accessed through the Value property.

// <addressBook>
//   <contacts>
//     <contact>
//       <name>Jonathan</name>
//     </contact>
//   </contacts>
// </addressBook>
var firstPersonsName = dynamicXml.contacts[0].name.Value;
// firstPersonsName will be 'Jonathan'

Attributes

Attributes can be accessed through 'index' syntax, as shown below.

// <addressBook>
//   <contacts>
//     <contact id="1">
//       <name>Jonathan</name>
//     </contact>
//   </contacts>
// </addressBook>
var firstPersonsId = dynamicXml.contacts[0]["id"];
// firstPersonsId will be '1'

Repeated elements

Whenever repeated elements are encountered, they're put into a container which is named after the element names pluralized.

// <colors>
//   <blue></blue>
//   <green lightness="1"></green>
//   <green lightness="10"></green>
// </colors>
var darkGreenLightness = dynamicXml.greens[0]["lightness"];
var lightGreenLightness = dynamicXml.greens[1]["lightness"];
// darkGreenLightness will be '1'
// lightGreenLightness will be '10'

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