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POReference to the Main Form whilst trying to Serialize objects in C#
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  1. POReference to the Main Form whilst trying to Serialize objects in C#
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    copied!<p>I have a button on my main form which calls a method to serialize some objects to disk. I am trying to add these objects to an ArrayList and then serialize them using a BinaryFormatter and a FileStream. </p> <pre><code> public void SerializeGAToDisk(string GenAlgName) { // Let's make a list that includes all the objects we // need to store a GA instance ArrayList GAContents = new ArrayList(); // Structure and info for a GA GAContents.Add(GenAlgInstances[GenAlgName]); // There may be several running GA's GAContents.Add(RunningGAs[GenAlgName]); using (FileStream fStream = new FileStream(GenAlgName + ".ga", FileMode.Create, FileAccess.Write, FileShare.None)) { BinaryFormatter binFormat = new BinaryFormatter(); binFormat.Serialize(fStream, GAContents); } } </code></pre> <p>When running the above code I get the following exception:</p> <p>System.Runtime.Serialization.SerializationException was unhandled Message=Type 'WindowsFormsApplication1.Form1' in Assembly 'GeneticAlgApp, Version=1.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null' is not marked as serializable.</p> <p><strong>So that means that somewhere in the objects I'm trying to save there must be a reference to the main form. The only possible references I can see are 3 delegates which all point to methods in the main form code. Do delegates get serialized as well? I can't seem to apply the <code>[NonSerialized]</code> attribute to them.</strong> </p> <p>Is there anything else I might be missing? Even better, is there a quick method to find the reference(s) that are causing the problem?</p> <p><strong>UPDATE:</strong> </p> <p>Well I got my code to work by saving the delegates into temporary variables and then setting them to null before serialization. I then set them back to the original values afterwards. It seems like there should be a better way to do this. Any comments please?</p> <p><strong>ANSWER:</strong></p> <p>I couldn't figure out a way to stop my delegates from being serialized other than setting them to null before serializing, however I think the best solution was to <strong>change my code to use events instead</strong>. As Mark Gravell stated in his answer events can be omitted from serialization by marking them with the <code>[field:Nonserialized]</code> attribute. Problem solved. Nobody actually suggested this but I guess Mark's answer was the closest.</p>
 

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