Using XmlSerializer with Inheritance in C# - Issues with Type Discrimination
I'm trying to serialize a base class with derived classes using `XmlSerializer` in C#... I have a base class `Animal` and two derived classes `Dog` and `Cat`. While serializing, I need the XML to reflect the specific type of the derived class. However, when I deserialize the XML back, it always returns the base class type instead of the derived class, leading to loss of derived class properties. Here's the code I have: ```csharp [XmlInclude(typeof(Dog))] [XmlInclude(typeof(Cat))] public class Animal { public string Name { get; set; } } public class Dog : Animal { public bool Barks { get; set; } } public class Cat : Animal { public bool Meows { get; set; } } var dog = new Dog { Name = "Rex", Barks = true }; var serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(Animal)); using (var writer = new StringWriter()) { serializer.Serialize(writer, dog); string xml = writer.ToString(); Console.WriteLine(xml); } ``` The XML output looks fine, but when I try to deserialize: ```csharp string xml = "<Animal xmlns:xsi=\"http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance\" xsi:type=\"Dog\"><Name>Rex</Name><Barks>true</Barks></Animal>"; Animal deserializedAnimal; using (var reader = new StringReader(xml)) { deserializedAnimal = (Animal)serializer.Deserialize(reader); } Console.WriteLine(deserializedAnimal.GetType().Name); ``` I get the output `Animal` instead of `Dog`. I tried adding `XmlInclude` attributes to the base class, but it doesn’t seem to make a difference. I need to ensure that the XML reflects the actual derived type during deserialization. Is there something I'm missing or a different approach? I'm using .NET 5 and have the `System.Xml.XmlSerializer` namespace included. Any guidance would be appreciated! The stack includes C# and several other technologies. I've been using C# for about a year now. What are your experiences with this?