Working with LINQ to XML

LINQ to XML is a LINQ provider that allows you to query and manipulate XML.

Generating XML using LINQ to XML

Let's create a method to convert the Products table into XML.

1. In Program.cs, import the System.Xml.Linq namespace.
2. Create a method to output the products in XML format, as shown in the following code:

   static void OutputProductsAsXml()
   {
     using (var db = new Northwind())
     {
       var productsForXml = db.Products.ToArray();
       var xml = new XElement("products", 
         from p in productsForXml 
         select new XElement("product",
           new XAttribute("id", p.ProductID),
           new XAttribute("price", p.UnitPrice),
           new XElement("name", p.ProductName)));
       WriteLine(xml.ToString());
     }
   }

3. In Main, comment the previous method call and call OutputProductsAsXml.

4. Run the console application, view the result, and note that the structure of the XML generated matches...