ObjectDumper is a utility which aims to serialize C# objects to string for debugging and logging purposes.
Get Started
$ dotnet add package ObjectDumper.NETReadme
ObjectDumper.NET
ObjectDumper is a utility which aims to serialize C# objects to string for debugging and logging purposes.
Download and Install ObjectDumper.NET
This library is available on NuGet: https://www.nuget.org/packages/ObjectDumper.NET/ Use the following command to install ObjectDumper using NuGet package manager console:
PM> Install-Package ObjectDumper.NET
You can use this library in any .NET project which is compatible to PCL (e.g. Xamarin Android, iOS, Windows Phone, Windows Store, Universal Apps, etc.)
The Purpose of ObjectDumper
Serialization, the process of converting a complex object to a machine-readable or over-the-wire transmittable string, is a technique often used in software engineering. A well-known serializer is Newtonsoft.JSON which serializes .NET objects to the data representation format JSON.
ObjectDumper.NET provides two excellent ways to visualize in-memory .NET objects:
- DumpStyle.Console: serialize objects to human-readable strings, often used to write complex C# objects to log files.
- DumpStyle.CSharp: serialize objects to C# initializer code, which can be used to compile a C# object again.
API Usage
Dumping C# Objects to Console.WriteLine
The following sample program uses DumpStyle.Console to write C# objects to the console output:
static void Main(string[] args)
{
var persons = new List<Person>
{
new Person { Name = "John", Age = 20, },
new Person { Name = "Thomas", Age = 30, },
};
var personsDump = ObjectDumper.Dump(persons);
Console.WriteLine(personsDump);
Console.ReadLine();
}
//CONSOLE OUTPUT:
{ObjectDumperSample.Netfx.Person}
Name: "John"
Age: 20
{ObjectDumperSample.Netfx.Person}
Name: "Thomas"
Age: 30