c# - XML Serialize boolean as 0 and 1

Question

The XML Schema Part 2 specifies that an instance of a datatype that is defined as boolean can have the following legal literals {true, false, 1, 0}. The following XML, for example, when deserialized, sets the boolean property "Emulate" to true.

<root>
    <emulate>1</emulate>
</root>

However, when I serialize the object back to the XML, I get true instead of the numerical value. My question is, is there a way that I can control the boolean representation in the XML?

Answer 1

You can also do this by using some XmlSerializer attribute black magic:

[XmlIgnore]
public bool MyValue { get; set; }

/// <summary>Get a value purely for serialization purposes</summary>
[XmlElement("MyValue")]
public string MyValueSerialize
{
    get { return this.MyValue ? "1" : "0"; }
    set { this.MyValue = XmlConvert.ToBoolean(value); }
}

You can also use other attributes to hide this member from intellisense if you're offended by it! It's not a perfect solution, but it can be quicker than implementing IXmlSerializable.