IDataContractSurrogate.GetObjectToSerialize(Object, Type) Method

public:
 System::Object ^ GetObjectToSerialize(System::Object ^ obj, Type ^ targetType);

public object GetObjectToSerialize(object obj, Type targetType);

abstract member GetObjectToSerialize : obj * Type -> obj

Public Function GetObjectToSerialize (obj As Object, targetType As Type) As Object

The substituted object that will be serialized. The object must be serializable by the DataContractSerializer. For example, it must be marked with the DataContractAttribute attribute or other mechanisms that the serializer recognizes.

The following example shows an implementation of the GetObjectToSerialize method.

public object GetObjectToSerialize(object obj, Type targetType)
{
        Console.WriteLine("GetObjectToSerialize Invoked");
        Console.WriteLine("\t type name: {0}", obj.ToString());
        Console.WriteLine("\t target type: {0}", targetType.Name);
        // This method is called on serialization.
        // If Person is not being serialized...
        if (obj is Person )
        {
            Console.WriteLine("\t returning PersonSurrogated");
            // ... use the XmlSerializer to perform the actual serialization.
            PersonSurrogated  ps = new PersonSurrogated();
            XmlSerializer xs = new XmlSerializer(typeof(Person));
            StringWriter sw = new StringWriter();
            xs.Serialize(sw, (Person)obj );
            ps.xmlData = sw.ToString();
            return ps;
        }
        return obj;
    }

Public Function GetObjectToSerialize(ByVal obj As Object, _
    ByVal targetType As Type) As Object _
    Implements IDataContractSurrogate.GetObjectToSerialize
    Console.WriteLine("GetObjectToSerialize Invoked")
    Console.WriteLine(vbTab & "type name: {0}", obj.ToString)
    Console.WriteLine(vbTab & "target type: {0}", targetType.Name)
    ' This method is called on serialization.
    ' If Person is not being serialized...
    If TypeOf obj Is Person Then
        Console.WriteLine(vbTab & "returning PersonSurrogated")
        ' ... use the XmlSerializer to perform the actual serialization.
        Dim ps As New PersonSurrogated()
        Dim xs As New XmlSerializer(GetType(Person))
        Dim sw As New StringWriter()
        xs.Serialize(sw, CType(obj, Person))
        ps.xmlData = sw.ToString()
        Return ps
    End If
    Return obj

End Function

This method must not return null because on deserialization the data will be cast to type Object and an InvalidCastException is thrown.