This is a C# BeerXML object model and library for serializing/deserializing XML of this format. It can be used in any .NET application that requires representation of Homebrewing recipies that conform to the open standard.

For the time being, as BeerXML V2 is not fully spec'ed out, this library only supports BeerXML V1. This will change if V2 gains traction.

Install the nuget package. In nuget, the package is called BeerXMLSharp and can be installed via the UI or Install-Package BeerXMLSharp.

Per the standard, every element in the BeerXML representation is either a "record" or a "record set". As such, the object model defines several interfaces:

1. BeerXMLSharp.OM.IBeerXMLEntity: this is the highest level interface representing any entity that is a BeerXML element. It defines methods:
   1. string GetBeerXML(): this method returns a string which contains the BeerXML representation of the BeerXML entity.
   2. void GetBeerXML(string filePath): this method writes the BeerXML representing the BeerXML entity to a file at the given filePath.
   3. void GetBeerXML(Stream stream): this method writes the BeerXML representing the BeerXML entity to the given Stream object.
   4. bool IsValid(): returns a bool indicating if the given BeerXML entity would result in a valid BeerXML representation per the BeerXML spec.
   5. bool IsValid(out ValidationCode errorCode): does the same as (4) with the addition of an out parameter that contains the error code, if the method returns false.
2. BeerXMLSharp.OM.IRecordSet: this interface defines a "record set", which is a collection of records in the BeerXML spec.
   1. void Add(IRecord child): adds the given IRecord to the record set.
   2. void Remove(IRecord child): removes the given IRecord from the record set.
   3. int Count: gets the number of IRecords in this record set.
3. BeerXMLSharp.OM.IRecord: this interface defines a record as defined in the BeerXML spec. It defines two common properties to all records, which are Name and Version.

The list of implemented IRecordSets in the BeerXMLSharp.OM.RecordSets namespace includes:

• Equipments
• Fermentables
• Hops
• Mash_Steps
• Mashs
• Miscs
• Recipes
• Styles
• Waters
• Yeasts

The list of implemented IRecords in the BeerXMLSharp.OM.Records namespace includes:

• Equipment
• Fermentable
• Hop
• Mash_Step
• Mash
• Misc
• Recipe
• Style
• Water
• Yeast

The descriptions and property lists for all IBeerXMLEntitys can be found in the spec.

The static class BeerXMLSharp.BeerXML defines deserialization methods:

1. IBeerXMLEntity Deserialize(string filePath): deserializes an IBeerXMLEntity from the given file.
2. IBeerXMLEntity Deserialize(Stream stream): deserializes an IBeerXMLEntity from the given Stream.

Further, BeerXMLSharp.BeerXML exposes a configuration property called StrictModeEnabled, which is a bool indicating whether a BeerXMLUnknownTypeTagException should be thrown if a Deserialize method encounters a tag with an unknown type. Note that the default for this property is false per the spec. When set to true, technically the program will be non-compliant because the spec requires that unknown tags be ignored. This property can be set as follows:

BeerXML.StrictModeEnabled = true;
BeerXML.StrictModeEnabled = false;

This exception is thrown when attempting to serialize an IBeerXMLEntity for which any of the IsValid() methods would return false. This exception can be bypassed by setting AllowInvalidSerialization to true on an object prior to calling GetBeerXML(). This may be desirable in certain cases including when parsing XML from an external source.

If strict mode is enabled, this exception is thrown during deserialization if the input XML contains an unknown tag that cannot be parsed into an IRecord or IRecordSet supported by BeerXML.

BeerXML V2+ if they are ever finalized, and BeerJSON if it is more widely adopted.