C# - Hydrate existing object with XML

Question

I know I can use Linq to map fields from XML to fields in a pre-existing object. Are there any functions in the .NET Framework (or other libraries) that make this less manual.

I would like to write (and have the HydrateFromXml behave a little like AutoMapper does):

var myObject = new MyObject(/*ctor args*/);

myObject = myObject.HydrateFromXml(string xml);

Edit:

Could I use the decorator pattern or a simple wrapper object here? Deserialize directly into a type that is wrapped by an abstraction that permits the fine-grained construction control I need?

Answer 1

You can use XmlSerializer to do that:

var serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(MyObject));

object result;
using (TextReader reader = new StringReader(xml))
{
    result= serializer.Deserialize(reader);
}

var myObject = result as MyObject;

For a situation when you're object instance already exists check this question: Deserializing properties into a pre-existing object

Answer 2

As a quick option, you could use AutoMapper. Use the XmlSerializer to deserialize to a new instance and then use AutoMapper to map from the newly created instance to your required instance.