ServiceKnownTypeAttribute Class

Definition

Namespace:

System.ServiceModel

Assembly:

System.ServiceModel.Primitives.dll

Package:

System.ServiceModel.Primitives v8.1.0

Source:

ServiceKnownTypeAttribute.cs

Specifies known types to be used by a service when serializing or deserializing.

public ref class ServiceKnownTypeAttribute sealed : Attribute

[System.AttributeUsage(System.AttributeTargets.Class | System.AttributeTargets.Interface | System.AttributeTargets.Method, AllowMultiple=true, Inherited=true)]
public sealed class ServiceKnownTypeAttribute : Attribute

[<System.AttributeUsage(System.AttributeTargets.Class | System.AttributeTargets.Interface | System.AttributeTargets.Method, AllowMultiple=true, Inherited=true)>]
type ServiceKnownTypeAttribute = class
    inherit Attribute

Public NotInheritable Class ServiceKnownTypeAttribute
Inherits Attribute

Inheritance

Object

Attribute

ServiceKnownTypeAttribute

Attributes

AttributeUsageAttribute

Examples

The following example applies the ServiceKnownTypeAttribute attribute to an interface where the attribute specifies a method name and a declaring type.

// Define a service contract and apply the ServiceKnownTypeAttribute
// to specify types to include when generating client code.
// The types must have the DataContractAttribute and DataMemberAttribute
// applied to be serialized and deserialized. The attribute specifies the
// name of a method (GetKnownTypes) in a class (Helper) defined below.
[ServiceKnownType("GetKnownTypes", typeof(Helper))]
[ServiceContract()]
public interface ICatalog
{
    // Any object type can be inserted into a Hashtable. The
    // ServiceKnownTypeAttribute allows you to include those types
    // with the client code.
    [OperationContract]
    Hashtable GetItems();
}

// This class has the method named GetKnownTypes that returns a generic IEnumerable.
static class Helper
{
    public static IEnumerable<Type> GetKnownTypes(ICustomAttributeProvider provider)
    {
        System.Collections.Generic.List<System.Type> knownTypes =
            new System.Collections.Generic.List<System.Type>();
        // Add any types to include here.
        knownTypes.Add(typeof(Widget));
        knownTypes.Add(typeof(Machine));
        return knownTypes;
    }
}

[DataContract()]
public class Widget
{
    [DataMember]
    public string Id;
    [DataMember]
    public string Catalog;
}

[DataContract()]
public class Machine : Widget
{
    [DataMember]
    public string Maker;
}

' Define a service contract and apply the ServiceKnownTypeAttribute
' to specify types to include when generating client code. 
' The types must have the DataContractAttribute and DataMemberAttribute
' applied to be serialized and deserialized. The attribute specifies the 
' name of a method (GetKnownTypes) in a class (Helper) defined below.
<ServiceKnownType("GetKnownTypes", GetType(Helper)), ServiceContract()>  _
Public Interface ICalculator
    ' Any object type can be inserted into a Hashtable. The 
    ' ServiceKnownTypeAttribute allows you to include those types
    ' with the client code.
    <OperationContract()>  _
    Function GetItems() As Hashtable 
End Interface 

' This class has the method named GetKnownTypes that returns a generic IEnumerable.
Friend Class Helper
    Public Shared  Function GetKnownTypes(provider As ICustomAttributeProvider) _
     As IEnumerable(of Type) 
        Dim knownTypes As List(Of Type) = New List(Of Type)
        ' Add any types to include here.
        knownTypes.Add(GetType(Widget))
        knownTypes.Add(GetType(Machine))
        Return knownTypes
    End Function 
End Class 

<DataContract()>  _
Public Class Widget
    <DataMember()>  _
    Public Id As String
    <DataMember()>  _
    Public Catalog As String
End Class 

<DataContract()>  _
Public Class Machine
    Inherits Widget
    <DataMember()>  _
    Public Maker As String
End Class

Alternatively, apply the attribute to the interface specifying the known type to include.

// Apply the ServiceKnownTypeAttribute to the
// interface specifying the type to include. Apply
// the attribute more than once if needed.
[ServiceKnownType(typeof(Widget))]
[ServiceKnownType(typeof(Machine))]
[ServiceContract()]
public interface ICatalog2
{
    // Any object type can be inserted into a Hashtable. The
    // ServiceKnownTypeAttribute allows you to include those types
    // with the client code.
    [OperationContract]
    Hashtable GetItems();
}

' Apply the ServiceKnownTypeAttribute to the 
' interface specifying the type to include. Apply the attribute
' more than once, if needed.
<ServiceKnownType(GetType(Widget)), ServiceKnownType(GetType(Machine)), _
 ServiceContract()>  _
Public Interface ICalculator2
    ' Any object type can be inserted into a Hashtable. The 
    ' ServiceKnownTypeAttribute allows you to include those types
    ' with the client code.
    <OperationContract()>  _
    Function GetItems() As Hashtable 
End Interface

Remarks

The ServiceKnownTypeAttribute is intended for use when creating Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) service contracts (interfaces that define the service and its methods). The known types are types that may be present in an object graph when serialization or deserialization occurs. For more information about known types, see Data Contract Known Types.

To use the MethodName property, create a class that contains a method (or methods) that returns an array of types (each being a known type). When applying the attribute, set the methodName to the name of a method that returns the list of types and set the declaringType to the type that contains the method. The method must return a type that implements the IEnumerable<T> interface. The method must also include a parameter of type ICustomAttributeProvider.

You can also apply the attribute several times to an interface, class, or method, each time specifying a new known type.

Note

You can use the word ServiceKnownType in your Microsoft Visual Basic or C# code instead of the longer ServiceKnownTypeAttribute.

Constructors

ServiceKnownTypeAttribute(String, Type)	Initializes a new instance of the ServiceKnownTypeAttribute class with the name of a method that returns the known types and the type that contains the method (or methods) that returns the known types.
ServiceKnownTypeAttribute(String)	Initializes a new instance of the ServiceKnownTypeAttribute class and specifies the name of a method that returns the known types.
ServiceKnownTypeAttribute(Type)	Initializes a new instance of the ServiceKnownTypeAttribute class with the specified known type.

Properties

DeclaringType	Gets the type that contains the methods that return the known types.
MethodName	Gets the name of a method that returns the collection of known types.
Type	The known type that can be included in an object graph.
TypeId	When implemented in a derived class, gets a unique identifier for this Attribute. (Inherited from Attribute)

Methods

Equals(Object)	Returns a value that indicates whether this instance is equal to a specified object. (Inherited from Attribute)
GetHashCode()	Returns the hash code for this instance. (Inherited from Attribute)
GetType()	Gets the Type of the current instance. (Inherited from Object)
IsDefaultAttribute()	When overridden in a derived class, indicates whether the value of this instance is the default value for the derived class. (Inherited from Attribute)
Match(Object)	When overridden in a derived class, returns a value that indicates whether this instance equals a specified object. (Inherited from Attribute)
MemberwiseClone()	Creates a shallow copy of the current Object. (Inherited from Object)
ToString()	Returns a string that represents the current object. (Inherited from Object)

See also

• DataContractAttribute
• DataMemberAttribute
• Data Contract Known Types