Chapter 10

XML Data Classes

TableofContents
Chapter 10 ................................................................................................................... 10-1
XML Data Classes ....................................................................................................... 10-1
XML Data Classes ........................................................................................... 10-1
Product.xml ...................................................................................................... 10-2
Methods in Generated XML Data Classes ....................................................... 10-2
BuildCollection Method .................................................................................... 10-3
The Code for BuildCollection ................................................................ 10-4
Samples ........................................................................................................... 10-6
Generating XML Data Classes ......................................................................... 10-8
Chapter Index................................................................................................. 10-13

XML Data Classes

If you deal with XML files a lot, you will like the ability to create data classes that
will wrap up the selecting, inserting, editing and the deleting of elements. Haystack
will read in XML files that model a single relation and allow you to create a class
wrapper to select and modify nodes in the xml.
The XML file can be element, attribute or a combination of the two as long as the
XML only contains a single row in a single table. For examples see the .XML
files in the [HaystackInstallFolder]\Samples folder.
All of the samples in this chapter come from the solution contained in the
[InstallFolder]\Haystack\Samples\xx\Xml_Sample_xx folders.

XML Data Classes

Product.xml
For all of the samples in this chapter, a Product.xml file will be used. A fragment of
this file is shown in Listing 1.
<Products>
<Product>
<ProductId>1</ProductId>
<ProductName>PDSA .NET Productivity Framework</ProductName>
<IntroductionDate>3/3/2002 12:00:00 AM</IntroductionDate>
<Price>20000</Price>
<IsDiscontinued>False</IsDiscontinued>
<Cost>200</Cost>
</Product>
<Product>
<ProductId>2</ProductId>
<ProductName>Architecting ASP.NET Applications</ProductName>
<IntroductionDate>2002-04-03T00:00:00-07:00</IntroductionDate>
<Cost>10</Cost>
<Price>19.95</Price>
<IsDiscontinued>false</IsDiscontinued>
</Product>
</Products>
Listing 1: Product.xml file

Methods in Generated XML Data Classes

Given the Product.xml file listed above you can generate a class from Haystack
that will give you several methods as shown in Table 1 below.
Method

10-2

Description

BuildCollection

This method will return a collection class of objects created from

your XML file. All nodes in your XML file are returned. You could
use this method as a template and add on additional methods that
apply a WHERE clause using LINQ to XML.

CheckBusinessRule

This method will check the business rule(s) for any specific
property/xml element. A status enumeration of passed or failed is
returned.

CheckBusinessRules

This method will check all business rules on all properties/xml

elements. A status enumeration of passed or failed is returned.

CloneEntity

This method will clone one complete xml element to a new object.

Delete

Deletes a single xml element from your xml file.

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BuildCollection Method
DoesUniqueKeyExist

This method will check to see if a specific unique key element

exists in the XML file. NOTE: This assumes you have identified one
of your elements as a unique key element. If your xml file does
not have a unique key element, then this method will not work.

Insert

Inserts a new xml element into your xml file.

GetNextUniqueKeyValue

If you have identified one of your elements as a unique key and

that is of an integer data type, then you can call this method and it
will find the maximum value in the existing file and automatically
increment that to the next number.

GetXElements

Returns all elements in your XML file as a collection of .NET

XElement objects.

LoadByUniqueKey

Loads a single element into an entity object based on a single

value you have identified as a unique key.

Update

Updates a single element in your xml file.

Validate

Performs a validation on all the business rules for each

element/property. This method will throw a
PDSAValidationException object if any business rules fail. This
method is called by the Insert and Update methods prior to
modifying the file.

Table 1: Methods of the XML Data Classes

BuildCollection Method
As a part of the Manager class, there is a BuildCollection method that returns all
elements from your XML file. This method will build a collection of Product objects
that can be bound to any typical data-bound object. Below is a sample of how to
call this method.

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XML Data Classes

C#
private void BuildCollectionSample()
{
ProductXmlManager mgr = null;
ProductXmlCollection coll;
try
{
mgr = new ProductXmlManager(AppConfig.ProductXmlFileName);
// Build collection of XML
coll = mgr.BuildCollection();
// Display the Data
lstData.DataContext = coll;
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
MessageBox.Show(ex.ToString());
}
}
VB.NET
Private Sub BuildCollectionSample()
Dim mgr As New ProductXmlManager(AppConfig.ProductXmlFileName)
Dim coll As ProductXmlCollection
Try
' Build collection of XML
coll = mgr.BuildCollection()
' Display the Data
lstData.DataContext = coll
Catch ex As Exception
MessageBox.Show(ex.ToString())
End Try
End Sub

The Code for BuildCollection

If you wish to restrict the amount of data coming back from your XML file, you could
always modify the BuildCollection method, or copy this method to your own method
in the Manager class and apply any WHERE or ORDER BY statements to the
LINQ to XML code. Below is what the BuildCollection method looks like.

10-4

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BuildCollection Method
C#
public ProductXmlCollection BuildCollection()
{
XElement xElem;
xElem = DataObject.GetXElements();
try
{
var elems = from cs in
xElem.Elements(DataObject.TopElementName)
select cs;
ProductXmlCollection coll = new ProductXmlCollection();
foreach (XElement item in elems)
{
ProductXml entity = new ProductXml();
DataObject.XElementToEntity(item, entity);
coll.Add(entity);
}
return coll;
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
throw new PDSAXmlDataClassException(
"Error trying read from XML file: " + FileName,
ex, ClassName, "GetProductXmls", FileName);
}
}
VB.NET
Public Function BuildCollection() As ProductXmlCollection
Dim xElem As XElement
Dim coll As New ProductXmlCollection()
Dim entity As ProductXml
xElem = DataObject.GetXElements()
Try
Dim elems = From cs In _
xElem.Elements(DataObject.TopElementName) _
Select cs
For Each item As XElement In elems
entity = New ProductXml()
DataObject.XElementToEntity(item, entity)
coll.Add(entity)
Next
Return coll
Catch ex As Exception
Throw New PDSAXmlDataClassException( _

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10-5

XML Data Classes

"Error trying read from XML file: " + FileName, _
ex, ClassName, "GetProductXmls", FileName)
End Try
End Function

As you can see in the above code, the DataObject is used to open the XML file and
return a .NET XElement object. Once you have this XElement object you can
iterate over the nodes using LINQ to XML. Each time through a node you create a
new ProductXml instance and move the xml elements into the properties of the
ProductXml entity class. The DataObject.XElementToEntity method is responsible
for moving the data from the XML element to the entity object.

Samples
There are samples of all of the methods listed in Table 1 in the sample application
located under the [InstallFolder]\Haystack\Samples\xx\Xml_Sample_xx folder.
A screen shot of the sample is shown in Figure 1 and Figure 2. You should open
up this sample and take a look at all the things you can do with XML files using
Haystack.

10-6

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Samples

Figure 1: The XML Data Classes Sample

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10-7

XML Data Classes

Figure 2: The XML Data Classes Sample

Generating XML Data Classes

To generate a data class from an XML file you click on the Haystack menu, then
choose the XML Class Generation menu (Figure 3). This will bring up the
Haystack XML Code Generator for .NET as shown in Figure 4.

10-8

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Generating XML Data Classes

Figure 3: Click on XML Class Generation to launch the XML Code Generator

Figure 4: XML Code Generator (XML Gen Info Tab)

On the XML Gen Info Tab is where you will setup how you want the code
generated.

Field

Description

Namespace

This is the name of this project that will be presented in the Combo box drop
down on the main Haystack screen. Each project must have a unique name in
Haystack.

XML Class Suffix

A description of this project.

Private Variable
(field) Prefix

Any prefix you wish to put on fields that are generated in classes.

Make all
Elements/Attributes
Required

Check this if you want all elements in your XML file to be required. Setting
this will create a business rule automatically for each element to ensure that
it is filled in.

Generate Integer

If your XML file uses an integer data type for a unique identifier on each

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10-9

XML Data Classes

Unique Key On
Insert?

row in your XML element you can check this and the XML Data Class engine
will automatically create a unique integer key for you when you perform an
Insert. Kind of like an auto-number in a database engine.

Generation
Language

The .NET language which you wish to use to generate for this XML Data
Class.

Figure 5: XML Code Generator (XML File Tab)

On the XML File Tab you will fill in the path and file name of the XML file you wish
to generate a data class. If your file is mostly (or all) element based XML. This will
help the XML code generator set a flag on each column identifying it as an element
or an attribute.
Click on the Read XML File button when you have filled in the name of the XML
file. The columns and the data from the XML file will then be read in and displayed
in the grid. Put in the name of the class you want to generate and then click on the
Set Data Types on Columns button. This will display the XML Column Information
screen (Figure 6).
Field

10-10

Description

Select an XML File

Fill in the full path and file name of the XML file you wish to generate a data
class for.

XML is Mostly
Element Based?

Check this box if the XML file you are reading in is mostly element-based
XML. Leave this unchecked if the XML file you are reading in is mostly
attribute based. If it is a mixture of both, then just leave it unchecked. You
will have an opportunity to set Element or Attribute in the XML Column
Information screen.

Read XML File

Button

Click on this button to read your XML file.

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Generating XML Data Classes

Class Name

Set the Class Name to generate for this XML file.

ORDER BY Element

Select any of your elements to order the XML data in.

Set Data Types on

Columns Button

Click here to set the data types for each column and whether each column is
an element or an attribute.

Figure 6: XML Column Information Screen

On the XML Column Information screen is where you will click on each column and
set information about that column. For example, on this screen you will set the data
type for each column and the private and public property names to generate. You
should also set one of your columns as the Unique Key.

Field
Private Name

Description
The backing field name for the public property.

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10-11

XML Data Classes

Public Name

The public property name.

Header Text

The text to use when creating labels for detail forms, or for grid column
headers.

Default Value

A default value to set the public property to when creating a new instance of
the entity class for this XML file.

.NET Type

The .NET data type you wish to use to hold the data in this column.

Minimum Value

Set this when your column is a numeric data type and you wish to enforce a
business rule that the value must be greater than or equal to this value.

Maximum Value

Set this when your column is a numeric data type and you wish to enforce a
business rule that the value must be less than or equal to this value.

Minimum Length

Set this when your column is a string data type and you wish to enforce a
business rule that the length of the string must be greater than or equal to
this value.

Is Element?

Set this to true if this column is an element in the XML file. Set to false if this
column is an attribute in the XML file.

Is Description
Field?

Set this to true if you want this column to be the description field.

Is Unique Key?

Set this to true if this column is the unique key field for a row of data in
the XML file.

Is Required?

Set this to true if the user will be required to fill in this value.

Required Message

Set this to a message to display to the user if they do not fill in this column of
data.

Save Button

Click this button save any changes you made to this column.

Close Button

Click this to close this form and return back to the XML generation screen.

When you are done setting the information for each column and identifying each as
an element or an attribute, you can then click on the Generate button and the data
classes and validation classes will be generated. In addition a WPF User Control
will also be generated for adding, editing and deleting data using the generated
XML data classes.

10-12

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Generating XML Data Classes

Summary
The ability to generate XML data classes will simplify your use of XML files. In
addition it will provide a standard approach to working with your XML files. You can
add your own methods by putting them into the Manager class. The Entity class is
a partial class, so you can add your own additional properties into the Entity class
that you will not regenerate.

Chapter Index
.
.NET Type for XML Data Classes, 10-12

B
BuildCollection, 10-2
BuildCollection Method, 10-3

C
CheckBusinessRule Method, 10-2
CheckBusinessRules Method, 10-2
Class Name for XML Data Classes, 10-11
CloneEntity Method, 10-2
Close Button for XML Data Classes, 10-12

D
Default Value for XML Data Classes, 10-12
Delete Method, 10-2
DoesUniqueKeyExist Method, 10-3

G
Generate Integer Unique Key on Insert for
XML Data Classes, 10-10
Generating XML Data Classes, 10-8
Generation Language for XML Data
Classes, 10-10
GetNextUniqueKeyValue Method, 10-3
GetXElements Method, 10-3

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H
Header Text for XML Data Classes, 10-12

I
Insert Method, 10-3
Is Description Field? for XML Data Classes,
10-12

Is Element? for XML Data Classes, 10-12

Is Required? for XML Data Classes, 10-12
Is Unique Key? for XML Data Classes, 10-12

L
LoadByUniqueKey Method, 10-3

M
Make all Elements Required for XML Data
Classes, 10-9
Maximum Value for XML Data Classes, 1012

Methods in Generated XML Data Classes,

10-2
Minimum Length for XML Data Classes, 1012

Minimum Value for XML Data Classes, 10-12

N
Namespace for XML Data Classes, 10-9

10-13

XML Data Classes

O
ORDER BY Element for XML Data Classes,

U
Update Method, 10-3

10-11

P
Private Name for XML Data Classes, 10-11
Private Variable (field) Prefix for XML Data
Classes, 10-9
Product.xml file, 10-2
Public Name for XML Data Classes, 10-12

R
Read XML File Button for XML Data
Classes, 10-10
Required Message for XML Data Classes,
10-12

S
Save Button for XML Data Classes, 10-12
Select an XML File for XML Data Classes,
10-10

Set Data Types on Columns Button for XML

Data Classes, 10-11

10-14

V
Validate Method, 10-3

X
XML Class Suffix, 10-9
XML Data Classes, 10-1
BuildCollection Method, 10-2, 10-3, 10-4
CheckBusinessRule Method, 10-2
CheckBusinessRules Method, 10-2
CloneEntity Method, 10-2
Delete Method, 10-2
DoesUniqueKeyExist Method, 10-3
Generating, 10-8
GetNextUniqueKeyValue Method, 10-3
GetXElements Method, 10-3
Insert Method, 10-3
LoadByUniqueKey Method, 10-3
Update Method, 10-3
Validate Method, 10-3
XML Data Classes Samples, 10-6
XML is Mostly Element Based? for XML
Data Classes, 10-10

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