ASMX WebService returning XmlNode instead of custom object

Question

Here is the webservice:

Custom classes:

public class A
{
    public A()
    {
    }
    public B prop { get; set; } 
}

public class B
{
    public B()
    {
    }
    public A prop { get; set; }
}

Webmethod:

[WebMethod]
[XmlInclude(typeof(A))]
public object Test()
{
    A a = new A();
    a.prop = new B();

    return a;
}

Here is the client side:

Service ws = new Service();
var response = ws.Test();

So, why is the webservice returning XmlNode list instead of class A? How to solve it?

PS: if I comment public A prop { get; set; } line, it works

FYI, the [Serializable] attribute is not used by XML Serialization. — John Saunders
– John Saunders, Commented Mar 26, 2012 at 0:22
Alright, removed. Any ideas how to solve this loop serialization problem? — mtanksl
– mtanksl, Commented Apr 4, 2012 at 14:50
There is no problem. You told it to return object, so it's returning the most general possible type. If you didn't mean object, then don't return object. — John Saunders
– John Saunders, Commented Apr 4, 2012 at 15:53
The main point here is that if I comment public A prop { get; set; } it will return A as expected. How to achieve this without commenting code line? — mtanksl
– mtanksl, Commented Apr 6, 2012 at 0:27

Community · Accepted Answer · 2017-05-23 11:56:22Z

1

Ok, found the solution:

I could use a wrapper, like this:

C#.NET WebService returning object

Or I use the [return:] attribute, like this:

[WebMethod]
[return: XmlElement(typeof(A))]
public object Test()
{
    A a = new A();
    a.prop = new B();

    return a;
}

http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/forums/en-US/asmxandxml/thread/599ed74a-ad3d-451e-9a41-551900c542da/

About attribute targets:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/b3787ac0(v=vs.80).aspx

edited May 23, 2017 at 11:56

CommunityBot

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answered Jul 18, 2012 at 1:04

mtanksl

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