Winforms formatting a nested XML to view as a report

Chris Johnson

Hi all.
We have XML files sent to us from several customers. The file structure is the same for all of them.
I wish to write a standalone c# program so users can open and view these files. However, I have never played with XML before and the files are pretty big and nested.
Can someone give me a clue with a tutorial or idea which is the best way to go about this?

I have the mdiparent done and I beleive the file>open>Stream is ready and correct. I don't mind if I have to use Crystal reports or even a datagrid. It may be that I need to use a schema file but I have found it all pretty confusing so far (the nested bit). From what I have tried so far I get the error

"The table (Body) cannot be the child table to itself in nested relations."

Can anyone give me a clue?

using (myStream)
{
//do stuff here

}

Cheers
Chris

8 Replies

Know the answer? Post it — somebody with the same question will find it here.

ali tuncer10y ago
Accepted answer
I received the same error when I tried to put in dataset..
But a small change in xml file fixed it, I am attaching the file..
Here is the change :






                       ........
Chris Johnson10y ago
I can't believe it was that simple. THANK YOU Ali ;-)
Chris Johnson10y ago
Hi Ali, I get the error when trying to format the incoming xml using standard code I found on the web. If it's simple flat xml I can format that fine.
I think the best thing for me to do is give an example of the file. (Attached)

As you can see, the nesting is pretty complex, the formatting I have tested online and the website says it's good.
ali tuncer10y ago
When do you get it? Is it when you generate class?
Are you sure xml file is valid/properly formatted? which .net version are you using?
Here is a similar thread like yours :
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/675640/c-the-table-sometable-cannot-be-the-child-table-to-itself-in-nested-relatio

But when I tested his xml, I didn't receive any error, I guess it could be related to .net version, I have 4.5 installed..
Chris Johnson10y ago
Thank you Ali.

Unfortunately I get the same error.

Error: There was an error processing 'chris.xml'.
- The table (Body) cannot be the child table to itself in nested relations.
ali tuncer10y ago
You could generate classes from XML file:
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/4203540/generate-c-sharp-class-from-xml
After that, you could read class data from XML file using XmlSerializer:

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ykeyhw7z(v=vs.90).aspx

You could also try other ways to read XML like XmlDocument, XmlTextReader, linq to XML
Chris Johnson10y ago
Hi Nishant, that is exactly what I am doing, however, that is when the error occurs.

"The table (Body) cannot be the child table to itself in nested relations."
Nishant Mittal10y ago
Hi,

I dont know much about crystal reports but Y dont u conver the XML in Datatable and play it around.
DataSet ds = new DataSet(); ds.ReadXml(fileNamePath);