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We use the XmlTextReader constructor and develop a custom parser for XML data. This is an efficient approach to XML parsing.
Example. Let's get started with this simple example program. A complete XML document is stored inside a string literal. With the StringReader constructor, we read this string as a StringReader.
Next: We pass the StringReader to the XmlTextReader constructor. In the while-loop, we read nodes and proceed if we detect a start element.
C# program that uses XmlTextReader using System; using System.IO; using System.Xml; class Program { static void Main() { string input = @"<?xml version=""1.0"" encoding=""utf-16""?><List> <Employee><ID>1</ID><First>David</First> <Last>Smith</Last><Salary>10000</Salary></Employee> <Employee><ID>3</ID><First>Mark</First> <Last>Drinkwater</Last><Salary>30000</Salary></Employee> <Employee><ID>4</ID><First>Norah</First> <Last>Miller</Last><Salary>20000</Salary></Employee> <Employee><ID>12</ID><First>Cecil</First> <Last>Walker</Last><Salary>120000</Salary></Employee> </List>"; using (StringReader stringReader = new StringReader(input)) using (XmlTextReader reader = new XmlTextReader(stringReader)) { while (reader.Read()) { if (reader.IsStartElement()) { switch (reader.Name) { case "Employee": Console.WriteLine(); break; case "ID": Console.WriteLine("ID: " + reader.ReadString()); break; case "First": Console.WriteLine("First: " + reader.ReadString()); break; case "Last": Console.WriteLine("Last: " + reader.ReadString()); break; case "Salary": Console.WriteLine("Salary: " + reader.ReadString()); break; } } } } } } Output ID: 1 First: David Last: Smith Salary: 10000 ID: 3 First: Mark Last: Drinkwater Salary: 30000 ID: 4 First: Norah Last: Miller Salary: 20000 ID: 12 First: Cecil Last: Walker Salary: 120000
Switch statement. We process each tag name differently in the switch statement. For elements containing values (such as ID, First, Last and Salary) we use ReadString to read in the next node as a string. We display that string.
XmlReader and XmlTextReader are basically the same. When you call XmlTextReader.Create, an XmlReader is returned. But the XmlTextReader provides more constructors. The functionality is essentially the same.
Summary. We looked at the XmlTextReader type in the C# programming language and the .NET Framework. With XmlTextReader, we gain more constructors for using an XmlReader. These types can be used to develop fast custom parsers for XML files.
But: If execution speed is not important, other types such as XElement can lead to faster development.