[Boost-users] [serialization] How to deserialize only a part of an XML archive?

Subject: [Boost-users] [serialization] How to deserialize only a part of an XML archive?
From: luca (luca.penasa_at_[hidden])
Date: 2013-12-05 13:05:48

This is my scenario:
I've got a shared library in which these classes are defined:

class base
{
...
serialize()
...
}

class parent: public base
{
...
serialize(...) {...serialize base. and itselft too!}
...
}

the shared lib is used by a computational application that re-implements 
class parent in an extended version - this because the app is a Qt 
application that does visualization etc...:

class grandParent: public parent
{
//it also defines some specific serialization capabilities:
serialize (...) {serialize parent  and also itself}
}

Now if I serialize into an XML archive an instance of grandParent I am 
clarly able to deserialize it in a grandParent object, but what about to 
deserialize it as a parent object?
if I serialize from grandParent I would get something like:

<grandParent>
     <parent>
         <base>
         </base>
     </parent>
</grandParent>

I would need to deserialize only the parent part:

     <parent>
         <base>
         </base>
     </parent>

In practice I would like to be able to deserialize an XML archive to a 
base class instead that to the derived. But in this case the derived 
class is not accessible by boost (that thus complains about it)

In this way I would get the better inter-operability between my 
application and the underlaying lib, that must be able to run without 
the app itself...

Many thanks!

Luca