PRB: XML Web Service Created with ASP.NET Does Not Support Multidimensional Arrays

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This article was previously published under Q316273

Symptoms

When you try to obtain a Web Services Description Language (WSDL) document from a Web service by using a Web service method that contains a return type or parameter type that is a multidimensional array, you receive the following HTML error message:

Cannot serialize object of type System.String[,]. Multidimensional arrays are not supported.

An exception is generated if you call the Web Service.

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Resolution

XML Web services that are created with ASP.NET do not support multidimensional arrays.

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Status

Instead of using multidimensional arrays, use the following code to specify an array of arrays (in other words, a jagged array):

Visual C# .NET example:

[WebMethod]
public string[][] ReturnMultiDimArray() 
{
  string [] y = {"ab","cd"};
  string [] z = {"ef","gh"};			
  string [][] x = {y,z};			
  return x;
}

Visual Basic .NET example:

<WebMethod> Public Function ReturnMultiDimArray() As String()()
  Dim y As String()
  Dim z As String()
  Dim x As String()() = New String()() {y, z}
  Return x
End Function

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