How to deserialize a tag nested within a text section of another tag?

Question

How to represent the structure of the following XML for its further deserialization into classes?

<HeadElement id="1">
    Text in HeadElement start
    <SubElement samp="0">
        Text in SubElement
    </SubElement>
    Continue text
 </HeadElement>

My current code looks like this:

[DataContract]
public class ClaimText
{
    [DataMember, XmlElement(ElementName = "claim-ref")]
    public ClaimRef claimref; // { get; private set; }
    public void setclaimref(ClaimRef claimref_)
    {
        this.claimref = claimref_;
    }

    [DataMember, XmlText()]
    public string txt; // { get; private set; }
    public void settxt(string txt_)
    {
        this.txt = txt_;
    }       

}

Given the following XML contents:

<claim id="CLM-00016" num="00016">
    <claim-text>16. The midgate assembly of <claim-ref idref="CLM-00015">claim 15</claim-ref>, further comprising a second ramp member connected to an opposite side of the midgate panel for selectively covering an opposite end of the pass-through aperture. </claim-text>
</claim>

I get the object in which the link to the "claim-ref" is present, but not the entire text: only the second part of it (", further comprising ..."). How to get the whole text?

Answer 1

First of all you are mixing attributes for DataContractSerializer and XmlSerializer.

Ad rem: in case of mixed elements it's better to use XmlSerializer. Here is the structure that works with your XML:

[XmlRoot(ElementName = "claim")]
public class ClaimText
{
    [XmlAttribute]
    public string id;

    [XmlAttribute]
    public string num;

    [XmlElement(ElementName = "claim-text")]
    public ClaimInnerContents contents;
}

public class ClaimInnerContents
{
    [XmlElement(ElementName = "claim-ref", Type = typeof(ClaimRef))]
    [XmlText(Type = typeof(string))]
    public object[] contents;
}

public class ClaimRef
{
    [XmlAttribute]
    public string idref;

    [XmlText]
    public string text;
}

ClaimRef and splitted text sections are deserialized into contents array as objects.

You can (and should) of course provide statically typed and checked accessors to particular elements of this array.