Thread: Name cannot begin with the '%' character, hexadecimal value 0x25. Line 1, position 2

Do you have any examples of how to use this J?

I'm not sure I understand how this fits into the problem I'm having....

I've never used it, but there are plenty of examples on Google. As far as fitting into your problem, it sounds like you're trying to programmatically create a file and then actually use it as if it were a physical file on your server. The VirtualPathProvider should be able to help you with that part. But maybe I'm missing what you're trying to do here...

I'm not actually creating a file. I'm streaming it straight out.

Code:

Dim objWriter As XmlTextWriter = New XmlTextWriter(Response.OutputStream, System.Text.Encoding.UTF8)

Could that be the problem?

How would I change what I have to use a dynamic XML file?

Would I have to call a routine to create the XML file and then change the DataSource file name to the xml file? But then, what about several users calling it at the same time? Wouldn't one overwrite the other?

This seems way more difficult than it ought to be....Is what I'm doing that out of the ordinary?

I've honestly never seen anyone ever try to write XML and then stream it...then try to set the stream as a DataSource. It also doesn't seem logical that it would even work, to be honest.

Originally Posted by jmurrayhead

I've honestly never seen anyone ever try to write XML and then stream it...then try to set the stream as a DataSource. It also doesn't seem logical that it would even work, to be honest.

But isn't that effectively what an RSS feed is?

You should be able to simply output the feed to the page like in this example: ASP.NET 2.0 RSS Feed Generator - C# - Snipplr

Yes, if I call the file directly in the browser, it outputs the XML fine....

I get the error when I try and use the file as a datasource for any XML control....

Hmm...I wonder if I call it before Page_Load it might work..

Why do you even need to set it as a datasource? Look at DeveloperBarn's RSS...it simple outputs it to the page...You need an actual file to set the DataSource of the XML control.

What I thought I would do is build all the data lists etc. in a standardised format (XML) so that if, for example, someone wanted to call a list from another site they could call the respective file and be fed a standardised XML file.

I am trying to call the XML file in another page in my app to get it to populate an XML datasource....I am then using an xslt file to manipulate the data..

I realise this is in a slightly roundabout way, but I wanted to just have a standardised way of generating a list so it could be handled by a variety of different media.

Does that make sense or am I talking complete gibberish again?