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How to: Read Object Data from an XML File (Visual Basic)

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This example reads object data that was previously written to an XML file using the XmlSerializer class.

Example

Public Class Book  
    Public Title As String  
End Class  
  
Public Sub ReadXML()  
    Dim reader As New System.Xml.Serialization.XmlSerializer(GetType(Book))  
    Dim file As New System.IO.StreamReader(  
        "c:\temp\SerializationOverview.xml")  
    Dim overview As Book  
    overview = CType(reader.Deserialize(file), Book)  
    Console.WriteLine(overview.Title)  
End Sub

Compile the code

Replace the file name "c:\temp\SerializationOverview.xml" with the name of the file containing the serialized data. For more information about serializing data, see How to: Write Object Data to an XML File (Visual Basic).

The class must have a public constructor without parameters.

Only public properties and fields are deserialized.

Robust Programming

The following conditions may cause an exception:

  • The class being serialized does not have a public, parameterless constructor.

  • The data in the file does not represent data from the class to be deserialized.

  • The file does not exist (IOException).

.NET Framework Security

Always verify inputs, and never deserialize data from an untrusted source. The re-created object runs on a local computer with the permissions of the code that deserialized it. Verify all inputs before using the data in your application.

See also