Unable to deserialize CSLA request in soap message sent by WCF (C#)

Question

I am learning WCF so my apologies if my terminology is off here and there.

I am trying to deserialize a soap message that was sent with WCF and captured by Fiddler and I keep getting this error message: "The data at the root level is invalid. Line 1, position 1."

The WCF service is setup with the following code:

// Set up WcfProxy DataPortal service url
Csla.DataPortalClient.WcfProxy.DefaultUrl = appRootUrl + "WcfSilverlightPortal.svc";

// Set up WcfProxy Binding
System.ServiceModel.BasicHttpBinding largeBinding = new System.ServiceModel.BasicHttpBinding();
largeBinding.MaxReceivedMessageSize = 20000000;
largeBinding.MaxBufferSize = 20000000;
largeBinding.OpenTimeout = new TimeSpan(0, 10, 0);
largeBinding.ReceiveTimeout = new TimeSpan(0, 10, 0);
largeBinding.CloseTimeout = new TimeSpan(0, 10, 0);
largeBinding.SendTimeout = new TimeSpan(0, 10, 0);
largeBinding.Name = "BasicHttpBinding_IWcfPortal";
Csla.DataPortalClient.WcfProxy.DefaultBinding = largeBinding;

The soap message captured in Fiddler is as follows:

<s:Envelope xmlns:s="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/">
   <s:Body>
      <Fetch xmlns="http://ws.lhotka.net/WcfDataPortal">
         <request xmlns:d4p1="http://schemas.datacontract.org/2004/07/Csla.Server.Hosts.Silverlight" xmlns:i="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
            <d4p1:ClientContext>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</d4p1:ClientContext>
            <d4p1:ClientCulture>en-US</d4p1:ClientCulture>
            <d4p1:ClientUICulture>en-US</d4p1:ClientUICulture>
            <d4p1:CriteriaData i:nil="true" />
            <d4p1:GlobalContext>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</d4p1:GlobalContext>
            <d4p1:Principal>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</d4p1:Principal>
            <d4p1:TypeName>Competition.Domain.Entities.SchoolSummaryList, Competition.Domain.Csla, Version=1.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null</d4p1:TypeName>
         </request>
      </Fetch>
   </s:Body>
</s:Envelope>

I am trying to deserialize this to an object of type Csla.Server.Hosts.Silverlight.CriteriaRequest

The code for this class looks like this:

//-----------------------------------------------------------------------
// <copyright file="CriteriaRequest.cs" company="Marimer LLC">
//     Copyright (c) Marimer LLC. All rights reserved.
//     Website: http://www.lhotka.net/cslanet/
// </copyright>
// <summary>Message sent to the Silverlight</summary>
//-----------------------------------------------------------------------
using System;
using System.Runtime.Serialization;
using System.Security.Principal;
using Csla.Core;

namespace Csla.Server.Hosts.Silverlight
{
  /// <summary>
  /// Message sent to the Silverlight
  /// WCF data portal.
  /// </summary>
  [DataContract]
  public class CriteriaRequest
  {
    /// <summary>
    /// Assembly qualified name of the 
    /// business object type to create.
    /// </summary>
    [DataMember]
    public string TypeName { get; set; }

    /// <summary>
    /// Serialized data for the criteria object.
    /// </summary>
    [DataMember]
    public byte[] CriteriaData { get; set; }

    /// <summary>
    /// Serialized data for the principal object.
    /// </summary>
    [DataMember]
    public byte[] Principal { get; set; }

    /// <summary>
    /// Serialized data for the global context object.
    /// </summary>
    [DataMember]
    public byte[] GlobalContext { get; set; }

    /// <summary>
    /// Serialized data for the client context object.
    /// </summary>
    [DataMember]
    public byte[] ClientContext { get; set; }

    /// <summary>
    /// Serialized client culture.
    /// </summary>
    /// <value>The client culture.</value>
    [DataMember]
    public string ClientCulture { get; set; }

    /// <summary>
    /// Serialized client UI culture.
    /// </summary>
    /// <value>The client UI culture.</value>
    [DataMember]
    public string ClientUICulture { get; set; }
  }
}

I have tried grabbing each of the three xml elements 'Body', 'Fetch' and 'request' from the soap message and storing them as an XElement variable named 'element' and running the code below:

DataContractSerializer dcs = new DataContractSerializer(typeof(CriteriaRequest));
MemoryStream ms = new MemoryStream(System.Text.Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(element.Value));
ms.Seek(0, SeekOrigin.Begin);
XmlDictionaryReader reader = XmlDictionaryReader.CreateTextReader(ms, Encoding.UTF8, new XmlDictionaryReaderQuotas(), null);
CriteriaRequest fr = (CriteriaRequest)dcs.ReadObject(reader);

In every case it has failed to deserialize the object and I am out of ideas.

I think I have provided all the relavent information but if anything else would help please let me know and I will provide it.

Thanks.

Answer 1

You can't use the more simplistic serializers to directly serialize a CSLA .NET object graph. Serializers such as XmlSerializer, JsonSerializer, and the various DataContractSerializer variations aren't sophisticated enough to completely clone and object graph, and so they aren't supported by CSLA.

Only the BinaryFormatter, NetDataContractSerializer, and MobileFormatter are supported.

Odds are you are trying to expose your business objects directly as a service interface. That's a poor architectural choice, and one I'd never choose to support or encourage anyone to do. You might find the XML Services FAQ page useful.