C# 4 and .NET 4

Working with Different XMl objects ❘ 943
Prior to the LINQ to XML release, working with XML using System.Xml was not an easy task. With the
inclusion of System.Xml.Linq , you now fi nd a series of capabilities that make the process of working with
XML in your code much easier.
Many developers previously turned to the XmlDocument object to create XML within their application
code. This object allows you to create XML documents that enable you to append elements, attributes, and
other items in a hierarchical fashion. With LINQ to XML and the inclusion of the new System.Xml.Linq
namespace, you will now fi nd some new objects that make the creation of XML documents a much
simpler process.
WorKing WiTh differenT Xml objeCTs
In addition to the LINQ querying ability included in .NET 4, the .NET Framework includes XML objects
that work so well they can stand on their own outside of LINQ. You can use these objects in place of
working directly with the DOM in this release. Within the System.Xml.Linq namespace, you will fi nd a
series of LINQ to XML helper objects that make working with an XML document in memory
much easier.
The following sections work through the objects that are available to you within this namespace.
Many of the examples in this chapter use a fi le called Hamlet.xml. You can fi nd this
fi l e a t http://metalab.unc.edu/bosak/xml/eg/shaks200.zip that includes all of
Shakespeare’s plays as XML fi les.
X d ocument
The XDocument is a replacement of the XmlDocument object from the pre - .NET 3.5 world; it is easier to
work with in dealing with XML documents. The XDocument object works with the other new objects in this
space, such as the XNamespace , XComment , XElement , and XAttribute objects.
One of the more important members of the XDocument object is the Load() method:
XDocument xdoc = XDocument.Load(@"C:\Hamlet.xml");
This operation will load the Hamlet.xml contents as an in - memory XDocument object. You can also pass
a TextReader or XmlReader object into the Load() method. From here, you are able to programmatically
work with the XML:
XDocument xdoc = XDocument.Load(@"C:\Hamlet.xml");
Console.WriteLine(xdoc.Root.Name.ToString());
Console.WriteLine(xdoc.Root.HasAttributes.ToString());
This produces the following results:
PLAY
False
code download ConsoleApplication1.sln
Another important member to be aware of is the Save() method, which, like the Load() method, allows
you to save to a physical disk location or to a TextWriter or XmlWriter object:
XDocument xdoc = XDocument.Load(@"C:\Hamlet.xml");
xdoc.Save(@"C:\CopyOfHamlet.xml");
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