Datamodel.NET is a library which implements the Datamodel structure and Datamodel Exchange (DMX) file format.

Datamodel is a strongly-typed generic data structure designed by Valve Corporation. It is primarily used as a developer storage format for meshes, animations, and maps.

Usage

dotnet add package KeyValues2

using Datamodel;

// Load a file with unknown layout
using var dm = Datamodel.Load("my_file.dmx");
var element = dm.Root;
var value = element.Get<string>("my_property");

// Load a file with a known layout
using var map = Datamodel.Load<CMapRootElement>("fy_pool.vmap");
var root = (CMapRootElement)map.Root;
Debug.Assert(root.IsPrefab == false);

// Layout definition
// Full implementation can be found here:
// https://github.com/ValveResourceFormat/Datamodel.NET/blob/master/Tests/ValveMap.cs
[LowercaseProperties]
class CMapRootElement : Element
{
    public bool IsPrefab { get; set; }
    public int EditorBuild { get; set; } = 8600;
    public int EditorVersion { get; set; } = 400;
}

Features

• Support for all known versions of Valve's binary and keyvalues2 DMX encodings
• Inline documentation
• Binary codec supports just-in-time attribute loading
• Write your own codecs with the ICodec interface
• Serialize and deserialize support for Datamodel.Element subclasses
• Prefix attributes (such as the map_asset_references of a vmap) survive a load and save cycle in both encodings
• Output laid out like Valve's own serializers: binary 9 stores the prefix attributes as an element right after the root, keyvalues2 uses tab indentation and one array item per line

Typed elements

Datamodel.Load<T> gives every element whose class name matches a subclass of Element in the namespace of T that subclass. Elements with no matching class are loaded as plain Elements.

How the classes are found:

• A source generator, shipped inside the package, emits an ElementFactory into every assembly that declares Element subclasses. It constructs the classes by name, lists their properties, and registers itself when the assembly is initialised.
• Loading asks the registered factories, the one in the assembly of T first. Pass a LoadOptions to pick another namespace or factory.
• The library uses no reflection and is compatible with trimming and Native AOT. Properties with init or non-public setters are assigned through UnsafeAccessor, so the classes need no special shape.

How a subclass maps onto the file:

• Every public property is an attribute. The attribute name is the property name, adjusted by [LowercaseProperties], [CamelCaseProperties] or [DMProperty].
• Attributes of the file that no property claims are kept as plain attributes and written back unchanged.
• Every property is always written, like in Valve's datamodel. Loading an older file through a class with newer properties adds those with their default values.
• Assigning a file attribute to a property of an incompatible type throws an InvalidDataException naming the property, which usually means the class does not match the format.
• A class must be internal or public for the generated factory to see it. A private nested class is loaded as a plain Element and the generator warns about it (DMX002).

Serialization

var HelloWorld = new Datamodel.Datamodel("helloworld", 1); // must provide a format name (can be anything) and version

HelloWorld.Root = new Datamodel.Element(HelloWorld, "my_root");
HelloWorld.Root["Hello"] = "World"; // any supported attribute type can be assigned

var MyString = HelloWorld.Root.Get<string>("Hello");

HelloWorld.Save("hello world.dmx", "keyvalues2", 1); // must provide an encoding name and version

<--! dmx encoding keyvalues2 1 format helloworld 1>
{
    "Hello" "string" "World"
}

Attributes

The following .NET types are supported as Datamodel attributes:

• int
• float
• bool
• string
• byte
• byte[]
• Vector2
• Vector3
• Vector4 / Quaternion
• Matrix4x4
• ulong
• System.TimeSpan

Additionally, the following Datamodel.NET types are supported:

• Element (a named collection of attributes)
• QAngle

IList<T> collections of the above types are also supported. (This can be a bit confusing given that both byte and byte[] are valid attribute types; use the ByteArray type if you run into trouble.)

License

Datamodel.NET is licensed under the MIT License.

The sample .dmx and .vmap files under Tests/Resources are derived from Valve Corporation game content and are included solely as test fixtures. They are not covered by the MIT license above and remain the property of Valve Corporation. They are not distributed in the NuGet package.