Serialize and deserialize a table instance

This sample shows how to serialize early-bound and late-bound table instances into an XML format, and how to de-serialize from an XML format to an early-bound table instance.

You can download the sample from here.

How to run this sample

  1. Download or clone the Samples repo so that you have a local copy.
  2. (Optional) Edit the cds/App.config file to define a connection string specifying the Microsoft Dataverse instance you want to connect to.
  3. Open the sample solution in Visual Studio and press F5 to run the sample. After you specify a connection string in cds/App.config, any sample you run will use that connection information.

If you do not specify a connection string in cds/App.config file, a dialog will open each time you run the sample and you will need to enter information about which Dataverse instance you want to connect to and which credentials you want to use. This dialog will cache previous connections so that you can choose a previously used connection.

Those samples in this repo that require a connection to a Dataverse instance to run will include a linked reference to the cds/App.config file.

What this sample does

The DataContractSerializer message is intended to be used in a scenario where it Serializes and deserializes an instance of a type into an XML stream or document using a supplied data contract. This class cannot be inherited.

How this sample works

In order to simulate the scenario described in What this sample does, the sample will do the following:

Setup

  1. Checks for the current version of the org.
  2. The CreateRequiredRecords method creates required sample data for the sample.

Demonstrate

  1. The DataContractSerializer method serializes the contact records into XML and write it to the hard drive.
  2. The earlyBoundSerializer method deserializes the table instance.

Clean up

Display an option to delete the records created in the Setup. The deletion is optional in case you want to examine the tables and data created by the sample. You can manually delete the records to achieve the same result.