serialize/deserialize object into string

[Guest]

How can I serialize/deserialize an object into a string. Existing examples
seem to be showing this operation for files only.

Thansk

 

[Guest]

What you are really asking is how to convert a stream (e.g. MemoryStream) to
a string. If you are using the BinaryFormatter the MemoryStream you serialize
to or from can be converted to / from a string as follows:

Stream to string:

byte[] b = MyMemoryStream.ToArray();
string s = System.Text.Encoding.UTF8.GetString(b);

String to stream:

string s = "whatever";
byte[] b = System.Text.Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(s);
MemoryStream ms = new MemoryStream(b);

Cheers.
Peter

 

[Thomas T. Veldhouse]

How can I serialize/deserialize an object into a string. Existing examples
seem to be showing this operation for files only.

using System.IO;
using System.Runtime.Serialization;
using System.Runtime.Serialization.Formatters.Binary;

....

MemoryStream memoryStream = new MemoryStream();
BinaryFormatter binaryFormatter = new BinaryFormatter();
binaryFormatter.Serialize(memoryStream, targetObject);
string str = System.Convert.ToBase64String(memoryStream.ToArray());

where targetObject is the object that you are trying to serialize.

 

[Guest]

Hey

Just try with this code.. it seriliaze an object to a string..

using System;
using System.IO;
using System.Runtime.Serialization;
using System.Runtime.Serialization.Formatters.Binary;

namespace SeriliazationEx
{
[Serializable()] //Set this attribute to all the classes that want to
serialize
public class Employee
{
public int EmpId;
public string EmpName;

//Default constructor
public Employee()
{
EmpId = 0;
EmpName = null;
}
}

public class ObjSerial
{
public static void Main(String[] args)
{
//Create a new Employee object
Employee mp = new Employee();
mp.EmpId = 10;
mp.EmpName = "Omkumar";

//Add code below for serialization
string s =
System.Text.Encoding.UTF8.GetString(getByteArrayWithObject(mp));
Console.WriteLine(s);
}
public static byte[] getByteArrayWithObject(Object o)
{
/*

1) Create a new MemoryStream class with the CanWrite property set to true
(should be by default, using the default constructor).

2) Create a new instance of the BinaryFormatter class.

3) Pass the MemoryStream instance and your object to be serialized to the
Serialize method of the BinaryFormatter class.

4) Call the ToArray method on the MemoryStream class to get a byte array
with the serialized data.

*/

MemoryStream ms = new MemoryStream();
BinaryFormatter bf1 = new BinaryFormatter();
bf1.Serialize(ms, o);
return ms.ToArray();
}
}
}



Veera.

 

[Jon Skeet [C# MVP]]

What you are really asking is how to convert a stream (e.g. MemoryStream) to
a string. If you are using the BinaryFormatter the MemoryStream you serialize
to or from can be converted to / from a string as follows:

Stream to string:

byte[] b = MyMemoryStream.ToArray();
string s = System.Text.Encoding.UTF8.GetString(b);

String to stream:

string s = "whatever";
byte[] b = System.Text.Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(s);
MemoryStream ms = new MemoryStream(b);

That's a way which is almost guaranteed to lose data. Serialization
with BinaryFormatter produces opaque binary data, which may very well
not be a valid UTF-8 encoded string.

To convert arbitrary binary data to a string and back, I'd use
Convert.ToBase64String and Convert.FromBase64String.

 

[Thomas T. Veldhouse]

What you are really asking is how to convert a stream (e.g. MemoryStream) to
a string. If you are using the BinaryFormatter the MemoryStream you serialize
to or from can be converted to / from a string as follows:

Stream to string:

byte[] b = MyMemoryStream.ToArray();
string s = System.Text.Encoding.UTF8.GetString(b);

String to stream:

string s = "whatever";
byte[] b = System.Text.Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(s);
MemoryStream ms = new MemoryStream(b);

That's a way which is almost guaranteed to lose data. Serialization
with BinaryFormatter produces opaque binary data, which may very well
not be a valid UTF-8 encoded string.

To convert arbitrary binary data to a string and back, I'd use
Convert.ToBase64String and Convert.FromBase64String.

I posted a code snippet using just what you discribe ... look elsewhere in
this thread. Encoding binary data as string often leaves "nulls" and other
characters that string code often considers "end of string" (like /0 in
ASCII), and thus should be avoided ... Base64 does a fine job of avioding it.

 

[Guest]

Jon,
Good point. It's so easy when you are focused on spitting out a quick
example for somebody, to pass over some basics.
Peter

--
Co-founder, Eggheadcafe.com developer portal:
http://www.eggheadcafe.com
UnBlog:
http://petesbloggerama.blogspot.com

What you are really asking is how to convert a stream (e.g. MemoryStream) to
a string. If you are using the BinaryFormatter the MemoryStream you serialize
to or from can be converted to / from a string as follows:

Stream to string:

byte[] b = MyMemoryStream.ToArray();
string s = System.Text.Encoding.UTF8.GetString(b);

String to stream:

string s = "whatever";
byte[] b = System.Text.Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(s);
MemoryStream ms = new MemoryStream(b);

That's a way which is almost guaranteed to lose data. Serialization
with BinaryFormatter produces opaque binary data, which may very well
not be a valid UTF-8 encoded string.

To convert arbitrary binary data to a string and back, I'd use
Convert.ToBase64String and Convert.FromBase64String.