How to check if an object is serializable in C#

Question

I am looking for an easy way to check if an object in C# is serializable.

As we know you make an object serializable by either implementing the ISerializable

Answer 1

I took the answer on this question and the answer here and modified it so you get a List of types that aren't serializable. That way you can easily know which ones to mark.

    private static void NonSerializableTypesOfParentType(Type type, List<string> nonSerializableTypes)
    {
        // base case
        if (type.IsValueType || type == typeof(string)) return;

        if (!IsSerializable(type))
            nonSerializableTypes.Add(type.Name);

        foreach (var propertyInfo in type.GetProperties(BindingFlags.Public | BindingFlags.NonPublic | BindingFlags.Instance))
        {
            if (propertyInfo.PropertyType.IsGenericType)
            {
                foreach (var genericArgument in propertyInfo.PropertyType.GetGenericArguments())
                {
                    if (genericArgument == type) continue; // base case for circularly referenced properties
                    NonSerializableTypesOfParentType(genericArgument, nonSerializableTypes);
                }
            }
            else if (propertyInfo.GetType() != type) // base case for circularly referenced properties
                NonSerializableTypesOfParentType(propertyInfo.PropertyType, nonSerializableTypes);
        }
    }

    private static bool IsSerializable(Type type)
    {
        return (Attribute.IsDefined(type, typeof(SerializableAttribute)));
        //return ((type is ISerializable) || (Attribute.IsDefined(type, typeof(SerializableAttribute))));
    }

And then you call it...

    List<string> nonSerializableTypes = new List<string>();
    NonSerializableTypesOfParentType(aType, nonSerializableTypes);

When it runs, nonSerializableTypes will have the list. There may be a better way of doing this than passing in an empty List to the recursive method. Someone correct me if so.

Answer 2

This is an old question, that may need to be updated for .NET 3.5+. Type.IsSerializable can actually return false if the class uses the DataContract attribute. Here is a snippet i use, if it stinks, let me know :)

public static bool IsSerializable(this object obj)
{
    Type t = obj.GetType();

     return  Attribute.IsDefined(t, typeof(DataContractAttribute)) || t.IsSerializable || (obj is IXmlSerializable)

}

Answer 3

Use Type.IsSerializable as others have pointed out.

It's probably not worth attempting to reflect and check if all members in the object graph are serializable.

A member could be declared as a serializable type, but in fact be instantiated as a derived type that is not serializable, as in the following contrived example:

[Serializable]
public class MyClass
{
   public Exception TheException; // serializable
}

public class MyNonSerializableException : Exception
{
...
}

...
MyClass myClass = new MyClass();
myClass.TheException = new MyNonSerializableException();
// myClass now has a non-serializable member

Therefore, even if you determine that a specific instance of your type is serializable, you can't in general be sure this will be true of all instances.

Answer 4

The exception object might be serializable , but using an other exception which is not. This is what I just had with WCF System.ServiceModel.FaultException: FaultException is serializable but ExceptionDetail is not!

So I am using the following:

// Check if the exception is serializable and also the specific ones if generic
var exceptionType = ex.GetType();
var allSerializable = exceptionType.IsSerializable;
if (exceptionType.IsGenericType)
    {
        Type[] typeArguments = exceptionType.GetGenericArguments();
        allSerializable = typeArguments.Aggregate(allSerializable, (current, tParam) => current & tParam.IsSerializable);
    }
 if (!allSerializable)
    {
        // Create a new Exception for not serializable exceptions!
        ex = new Exception(ex.Message);
    }

Answer 5

My solution, in VB.NET:

For Objects:

''' <summary>
''' Determines whether an object can be serialized.
''' </summary>
''' <param name="Object">The object.</param>
''' <returns><c>true</c> if object can be serialized; otherwise, <c>false</c>.</returns>
Private Function IsObjectSerializable(ByVal [Object] As Object,
                                      Optional ByVal SerializationFormat As SerializationFormat =
                                                                            SerializationFormat.Xml) As Boolean

    Dim Serializer As Object

    Using fs As New IO.MemoryStream

        Select Case SerializationFormat

            Case Data.SerializationFormat.Binary
                Serializer = New Runtime.Serialization.Formatters.Binary.BinaryFormatter()

            Case Data.SerializationFormat.Xml
                Serializer = New Xml.Serialization.XmlSerializer([Object].GetType)

            Case Else
                Throw New ArgumentException("Invalid SerializationFormat", SerializationFormat)

        End Select

        Try
            Serializer.Serialize(fs, [Object])
            Return True

        Catch ex As InvalidOperationException
            Return False

        End Try

    End Using ' fs As New MemoryStream

End Function

For Types:

''' <summary>
''' Determines whether a Type can be serialized.
''' </summary>
''' <typeparam name="T"></typeparam>
''' <returns><c>true</c> if Type can be serialized; otherwise, <c>false</c>.</returns>
Private Function IsTypeSerializable(Of T)() As Boolean

    Return Attribute.IsDefined(GetType(T), GetType(SerializableAttribute))

End Function

''' <summary>
''' Determines whether a Type can be serialized.
''' </summary>
''' <typeparam name="T"></typeparam>
''' <param name="Type">The Type.</param>
''' <returns><c>true</c> if Type can be serialized; otherwise, <c>false</c>.</returns>
Private Function IsTypeSerializable(Of T)(ByVal Type As T) As Boolean

    Return Attribute.IsDefined(GetType(T), GetType(SerializableAttribute))

End Function

Answer 6

Here's a 3.5 variation that makes it available to all classes using an extension method.

public static bool IsSerializable(this object obj)
{
    if (obj is ISerializable)
        return true;
    return Attribute.IsDefined(obj.GetType(), typeof(SerializableAttribute));
}