Serialize a Static Class?

Question

What happens if we serialize a static class? Can more than one instance of the static class be created if we serialize it?

[Serializable]
public static class         


        

Answer 1

Another solution but one that reads and writes in xml. You can also use the [NonSerialized] attribute above a field to prevent it from being serialized.

public static class SerializeStatic
{
    public static bool Serialize(Type staticClass, string fileName)
    {
        XmlTextWriter xmlWriter = null;

        try
        {
            xmlWriter = new XmlTextWriter(fileName, null);

            xmlWriter.Formatting = Formatting.Indented;

            xmlWriter.WriteStartDocument();

            Serialize(staticClass, xmlWriter);

            xmlWriter.WriteEndDocument();

            return true;
        }
        catch (Exception ex)
        {
            System.Windows.Forms.MessageBox.Show(ex.ToString());

            return false;
        }
        finally
        {
            if (xmlWriter != null)
            {
                xmlWriter.Flush();
                xmlWriter.Close();
            }
        }
    }

    public static void Serialize(string name, object obj, XmlTextWriter xmlWriter)
    {
        Type type = obj.GetType();
        XmlAttributeOverrides xmlAttributeOverrides = new XmlAttributeOverrides();
        XmlAttributes xmlAttributes = new XmlAttributes();
        xmlAttributes.XmlRoot = new XmlRootAttribute(name);
        xmlAttributeOverrides.Add(type, xmlAttributes);
        XmlSerializer xmlSerializer = new XmlSerializer(type, xmlAttributeOverrides);

        xmlSerializer.Serialize(xmlWriter, obj);
    }

    public static bool Serialize(Type staticClass, XmlTextWriter xmlWriter)
    {
        FieldInfo[] fieldArray = staticClass.GetFields(BindingFlags.Static | BindingFlags.Public);

        xmlWriter.WriteStartElement(staticClass.Name);

        foreach (FieldInfo fieldInfo in fieldArray)
        {
            if (fieldInfo.IsNotSerialized)
                continue;

            string fieldName = fieldInfo.Name;
            string fieldValue = null;
            Type fieldType = fieldInfo.FieldType;
            object fieldObject = fieldInfo.GetValue(fieldType);

            if (fieldObject != null)
            {
                if (fieldType.GetInterface("IDictionary") != null || fieldType.GetInterface("IList") != null)
                {
                    Serialize(fieldName, fieldObject, xmlWriter);
                }
                else
                {
                    TypeConverter typeConverter = TypeDescriptor.GetConverter(fieldInfo.FieldType);
                    fieldValue = typeConverter.ConvertToString(fieldObject);

                    xmlWriter.WriteStartElement(fieldName);
                    xmlWriter.WriteString(fieldValue);
                    xmlWriter.WriteEndElement();
                }
            }
        }

        xmlWriter.WriteEndElement();

        return true;
    }

    public static bool Deserialize(Type staticClass, string fileName)
    {
        XmlReader xmlReader = null;

        try
        {
            xmlReader = new XmlTextReader(fileName);

            Deserialize(staticClass, xmlReader);

            return true;
        }
        catch (Exception ex)
        {
            System.Windows.Forms.MessageBox.Show(ex.ToString());

            return false;
        }
        finally
        {
            if (xmlReader != null)
            {
                xmlReader.Close();
                xmlReader = null;
            }
        }
    }

    public static object Deserialize(string name, Type type, XmlReader xmlReader)
    {
        XmlAttributeOverrides xmlAttributeOverrides = new XmlAttributeOverrides();
        XmlAttributes xmlAttributes = new XmlAttributes();
        xmlAttributes.XmlRoot = new XmlRootAttribute(name);
        xmlAttributeOverrides.Add(type, xmlAttributes);
        XmlSerializer xmlSerializer = new XmlSerializer(type, xmlAttributeOverrides);

        return xmlSerializer.Deserialize(xmlReader);
    }

    public static bool Deserialize(Type staticClass, XmlReader xmlReader)
    {
        FieldInfo[] fieldArray = staticClass.GetFields(BindingFlags.Static | BindingFlags.Public);
        string currentElement = null;

        while (xmlReader.Read())
        {
            if (xmlReader.NodeType == XmlNodeType.EndElement)
                continue;

            if (xmlReader.NodeType == XmlNodeType.Element)
            {
                currentElement = xmlReader.Name;
            }

            foreach (FieldInfo fieldInfo in fieldArray)
            {
                string fieldName = fieldInfo.Name;
                Type fieldType = fieldInfo.FieldType;
                object fieldObject = fieldInfo.GetValue(fieldType);

                if (fieldInfo.IsNotSerialized)
                    continue;

                if (fieldInfo.Name == currentElement)
                {
                    if (typeof(IDictionary).IsAssignableFrom(fieldType) || typeof(IList).IsAssignableFrom(fieldType))
                    {
                        fieldObject = Deserialize(fieldName, fieldType, xmlReader);

                        fieldInfo.SetValueDirect(__makeref(fieldObject), fieldObject);
                    }
                    else if (xmlReader.NodeType == XmlNodeType.Text)
                    {
                        TypeConverter typeConverter = TypeDescriptor.GetConverter(fieldType);
                        object value = typeConverter.ConvertFromString(xmlReader.Value);

                        fieldInfo.SetValue(fieldObject, value);
                    }
                }
            }
        }

        return true;
    }
}