Can you specify a format for the XmlSerialization datetime?

Question

I need to serialize / deserialize datetime in yyyyMMdd format for an XML file. Is there an attribute / workaround that I can use for this?

Answer 1

No no. If it is in this format, then this is not a valid dateTime value with respect to the XML schema.

The best you can do is the following:

[XmlIgnore] public DateTime DoNotSerialize {get;set;} public string ProxyDateTime { get {return DoNotSerialize.ToString("yyyyMMdd");} set {DoNotSerialize = DateTime.Parse(value);} } 

Answer 2

XmlElementAttribute #DataType should provide what you need:

 [XmlElement(DataType="date")] public DateTime Date1 {get;set;} 

This will cause the Date1 property to be serialized according to the xml date format.