ShouldSerialize pattern and DataContractSerializer

Question

Is there a way to get the ShouldSerialize* pattern working with DataContractSerializer?

Here is a small example:

I have a simple cl

Answer 1

You should set the IsRequired attribute on the DataMember:

[DataContract]
public class Person
{
  [DataMember(IsRequired = False, EmitDefaultValue = False)]
  public string FirstName { get; set; }
  ...
}

Answer 2

AFAIK, ShouldSerialize* does not work with datacontract serializer. It is useless in the Kevin answer. You can remove it. Unfortunatly, the code given only work if you handle null value.

Here is a more generic solution: It returns null value depending of a given condition.

    [DataContract]
    public class Person
    {
      private string firstName;
      [DataMember(IsRequired = false, EmitDefaultValue = false)]
      public string FirstName
      {
        get
        {
            //Put here any condition for serializing
            return string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(firstName) ? null : firstName;
        }
        set
        {
            firstName = value;
        }
      }
    }