C# Read/Write XML File

Question

It should be simple, but i'm having trouble reading in a simple xml file into a list of strings. Sample xml file is below:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<directorylist>
    <dir>c:\TEST1\</dir>
    <dir>c:\TEST2\</dir>
</directorylist>

I want to read into a LIst. Can you recommend the best way to read/write.

Thnx

Answer 1

using System.Xml.Linq;

var myList = from dir in myDocument.Descendants("dir")
             select dir;

That will give you a list of XElement objects. If you want strings, use select dir.Value;

Answer 2

string xml = @"<?xml version=""1.0"" encoding=""utf-8"" ?>
                <directorylist>
                    <dir>c:\TEST1\</dir>
                    <dir>c:\TEST2\</dir>
                </directorylist>";

List<String> dirs = XElement.Parse(xml).Elements("dir")
                                       .Select(d => d.Value)
                                       .ToList();

you can use XElement.Load() to load xml directly from a file.