C#

// Saves the class instance to disk.
string path = @"C:\MyClassInstance.xml";
XmlSerializer serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(MyClass));
using(StreamWriter writer = new StreamWriter(path, false))
{
    serializer.Serialize(writer, myInstance); // assumes myInstance is an object of the type MyClass...
    writer.Close();
}

// Loads the class instance XML file from disk and deserializes it
MyClass instance = null;
string path = @"C:\MyClassInstance.xml";
if(File.Exists(path))
{
    XmlSerializer serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(MyClass));
    using(StreamReader reader = new StreamReader(path))
    {
        info = serializer.Deserialize(reader) as MyClass;
        reader.Close();
    }
}

using System;
using System.IO;
using System.Xml.Serialization;

namespace XmlSerializationExample
{
	class Example
	{
		/// <summary>
		/// The main entry point for the application.
		/// </summary>
		[STAThread]
		static void Main(string[] args)
		{
			MyClass mc = new MyClass();
			mc.Property1 = "a";
			mc.Property2 = "b";
			mc.Property3 = "c";
			mc.PickANumber = 1234;
			mc.IgnoreThisProperty = "Blahblahblahblah.";
			mc.Save(@"c:\serialized_myclass.xml");

			MyClass mc2 = MyClass.Load(@"c:\serialized_myclass.xml");
			Console.WriteLine("Deserialized Property1: {0}", mc2.Property1);
			Console.WriteLine("Deserialized Property2: {0}", mc2.Property2);
			Console.WriteLine("Deserialized Property3: {0}", mc2.Property3);
			Console.WriteLine("Deserialized PickANumber: {0}", mc2.PickANumber);
			Console.WriteLine("Deserialized ComboProperty: {0}", mc2.ComboProperty);
			Console.WriteLine("Deserialized IgnoreThisProperty: {0}", mc2.IgnoreThisProperty);

			Console.ReadLine();
		}
	}

	public class MyClass
	{
		#region Fields
		
		// These fields will not be directly serialized - they are private
		private string _field1;
		private string _field2;
		private string _field3;
		private string _ignoredField;
		
		// This field will be directly serialized, since it is public
                // (don't do this - bad practice)
		public int PickANumber; 

		#endregion Fields
		
		#region Constructor
		
		public MyClass(){}
		
		#endregion Constructor

		#region Properties
		
		/// <summary>
		/// Property1 will be serialized because it is a public property with 'get' and 'set' accessors.
		/// </summary>
		public string Property1
		{
			get{return _field1;}
			set{_field1 = value;}
		}

		/// <summary>
		/// Property2 will be serialized because it is a public property with 'get' and 'set' accessors.
		/// </summary>
		public string Property2
		{
			get{return _field2;}
			set{_field2 = value;}
		}

		/// <summary>
		/// Property3 will be serialized because it is a public property with 'get' and 'set' accessors.
		/// </summary>
		public string Property3
		{
			get{return _field3;}
			set{_field3 = value;}
		}

		/// <summary>
		/// Naughty, naughty property - I shall ignore you!
		/// </summary>
		[XmlIgnore]
		public string IgnoreThisProperty
		{
			get{return _ignoredField;}
			set{_ignoredField = value;}
		}

		/// <summary>
		/// ComboProperty will NOT be serialized because it is a public property with only a 'get' accessor.
		/// </summary>
		public string ComboProperty
		{
			get{return string.Format("{0}{1}{2}", Property1, Property2, Property3);}
		}

		#endregion Properties
		
		#region Methods
		
		public void Save(string path)
		{
			// Saves the class instance to disk.
			XmlSerializer serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(MyClass));
			using(StreamWriter writer = new StreamWriter(path, false))
			{
				serializer.Serialize(writer, this); // assumes myInstance is an object of the type MyClass...
				writer.Close();
			}
		}

		public static MyClass Load(string path)
		{
			// Loads the class instance XML file from disk and deserializes it
			MyClass instance = null;
			if(File.Exists(path))
			{
				XmlSerializer serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(MyClass));
				using(StreamReader reader = new StreamReader(path))
				{
					instance = serializer.Deserialize(reader) as MyClass;
					reader.Close();
				}
			}
			return instance;
		}
		
		#endregion Methods
	}
}

string connString = "Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=\"c:\\mydocument.xls\";Extended Properties=\"Excel 8.0;HDR=Yes;\"";

"HDR=Yes;" indicates that the first row contains columnnames, not data

"IMEX=1;" tells the driver to always read "intermixed" data columns as text