XML

Writing XML Using DataSet in C#

I am currently upgrading my XML book that I wrote a decade ago to .NET 4.5 and you will be seeing many more articles on XML and .NET. A few days ago, I wrote How to Load XML File into a DataGridView Control and now here is the reverse method.

This article shows how to write DataSet contents to an XML file. The DataSet class contains methods to write a XML file from a DataSet object and fill the data to the file. 

The WriteXml Method 

The WriteXml method writes the current data (the schema and data) of a DataSet object to an XML file. This is an overloaded method. By using this method, you can write data to a file, stream, TextWriter, or XmlWriter.

The following code snippet writes a DataSet contents to a XML file using the WriteXml method:

  1. DataSet ds = CreateDynamicDataSet();  
  2. ds.WriteXml(@"C:\Books\Students.xml");   
Sample 

Create a Windows Forms or WPF application and add a Button control to the Form/Window. Write the following code snippet for the button control click event handler. 

The CreateDynamicDataSet method creates a DataSet object in-memory. If you already have data coming from a database, getting filled in a DataSet, you won't need this method. All you need to do is call the WriteXml method of your DataSet and pass the full path of the XML file. 

This example creates a DataSet, fills the data for the DataSet, and writes the data to an XML file. 

  1. private void WriteXmlButton_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)  
  2. {  
  3.     DataSet ds = CreateDynamicDataSet();  
  4.     ds.WriteXml(@"C:\Books\Students.xml");  
  5. }  
  6.   
  7. private DataSet CreateDynamicDataSet()  
  8. {  
  9.   
  10.     DataSet ds = new DataSet("DS");  
  11.     ds.Namespace = "StdNamespace";  
  12.     DataTable stdTable = new DataTable("Student");  
  13.     DataColumn col1 = new DataColumn("Name");  
  14.     DataColumn col2 = new DataColumn("Address");  
  15.     stdTable.Columns.Add(col1);  
  16.     stdTable.Columns.Add(col2);  
  17.     ds.Tables.Add(stdTable);  
  18.   
  19.     //Add student Data to the table  
  20.     DataRow newRow; newRow = stdTable.NewRow();  
  21.     newRow["Name"] = "Mahesh Chand";  
  22.     newRow["Address"] = "Meadowlake Dr, Dtown";  
  23.     stdTable.Rows.Add(newRow);  
  24.     newRow = stdTable.NewRow();  
  25.   
  26.     newRow["Name"] = "Mike Gold";  
  27.     newRow["Address"] = "NewYork";  
  28.     stdTable.Rows.Add(newRow);  
  29.     newRow = stdTable.NewRow();  
  30.     newRow["Name"] = "Mike Gold";  
  31.     newRow["Address"] = "New York";  
  32.   
  33.     stdTable.Rows.Add(newRow);  
  34.     ds.AcceptChanges();   
  35.     return ds;  
  36.   
  37. }  
You wouldn't believe how much the WriteXml method can do for you. If you see the output Students.xml file, it generates a standard XML file that looks like the following.  

  1. <DS xmlns="StdNamespace">  
  2.  <Student>  
  3.   <Name>Mahesh Chand</Name>  
  4.   <Address>Meadowlake Dr, Dtown</Address>  
  5.   </Student>  
  6.  <Student>  
  7.   <Name>Mike Gold</Name>  
  8.   <Address>NewYork</Address>  
  9.   </Student>  
  10.  <Student>  
  11.   <Name>Mike Gold</Name>  
  12.   <Address>New York</Address>  
  13.   </Student>  
  14. </DS>

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