c# - How to check for valid xml in string input before calling .LoadXml()

Question

I would much prefer to do this without catching an exception in LoadXml() and using this results as part of my logic. Any ideas for a solution that doesn't involve manually parsing the xml myself? I think VB has a return value of false for this function instead of throwing an XmlException. Xml input is provided from the user. Thanks much!

if (!loaded)
{
     this.m_xTableStructure = new XmlDocument();
     try
     {
          this.m_xTableStructure.LoadXml(input);
          loaded = true;
     }
     catch
     {
          loaded = false;
     }
}

Answer 1

Just catch the exception. The small overhead from catching an exception drowns compared to parsing the XML.

If you want the function (for stylistic reasons, not for performance), implement it yourself:

public class MyXmlDocument: XmlDocument
{
  bool TryParseXml(string xml){
    try{
      ParseXml(xml);
      return true;
    }catch(XmlException e){
      return false;
    }
 }