YamlDotNet.Locations

An extension of the YamlDotNet library that allows the user to resolve deserialized objects to their position within the source YAML.

User guide

Installation and requirements

Requires .NET 6.0 and YamlDotNet 12.0. Install with nuget:

dotnet add YamlDotNet.Locations

Locating deserialized objects

Using LINQ expressions

LINQ expressions can be used as a typesafe method to query the locations of deserialized values, e.g:

var yaml = @"---
Object:
  Prop1: hello you
  Collection:
    - one
    - two 
"
// MyClass definition omitted for brevity
var (deserialiedValue, locator) = LocatingDeserializer.Deserialize<MyClass>(yaml);

// Output: (2:1)-(7:1)
Console.WriteLine(locator.GetLocation(x => x));
// Output: (3:3)-(7:1)
Console.WriteLine(locator.GetLocation(x => x.Object));
// Output: (3:10)-(3:19)
Console.WriteLine(locator.GetLocation(x => x.Object.Prop1));
// Output: (5:5)-(7:1)
Console.WriteLine(locator.GetLocation(x => x.Object.Collection));
// Output: (6:7)-(6:10)
Console.WriteLine(locator.GetLocation(x => x.Object.Collection[1]));

Using string-based queries

String based LINQ-style query expressions can also be used:

var yaml = @"---
Object:
  Prop1: hello you
  Collection:
    - one
    - two 
";

// MyClass definition omitted for brevity
var (deserialiedValue, locator) = LocatingDeserializer.Deserialize<MyClass>(yaml);

// Output: (2:1)-(7:1)
Console.WriteLine(locator.GetLocation( "."));
// Output: (3:3)-(7:1)
Console.WriteLine(locator.GetLocation( ".Object"));
// Output: (3:10)-(3:19)
Console.WriteLine(locator.GetLocation(".Object.Prop1"));
// Output: (5:5)-(7:1)
Console.WriteLine(locator.GetLocation(".Object.Collection"));
// Output: (6:7)-(6:10)
Console.WriteLine(locator.GetLocation(".Object.Collection[1]"));

A Dire Warning

This library works by exploiting the internal implementation details of YamlDotNet. While it has good test coverage, if these implementation details change in the future, it may stop working correctly.