LINQ to XML - Load XML fragments from file

Question

I have source XMLfiles that come in with multiple root elements and there is nothing I can do about it. What would be the best way to load these fragments into an XDocument

Answer 1

Here's how to do it with an XmlReader, which is probably the most flexible and fastest-performing approach:

XmlReaderSettings xrs = new XmlReaderSettings();
xrs.ConformanceLevel = ConformanceLevel.Fragment;

XDocument doc = new XDocument(new XElement("root"));
XElement root = doc.Descendants().First();

using (StreamReader fs = new StreamReader("XmlFile1.xml"))
using (XmlReader xr = XmlReader.Create(fs, xrs))
{
    while(xr.Read())
    {
        if (xr.NodeType == XmlNodeType.Element)
        {
            root.Add(XElement.Load(xr.ReadSubtree()));                
        }
    }
}