Develop Reference

How to mask sensetive data for particular requests (NLog)

Some of my actions accept models like:
public class PaymentRequest
{
public decimal Amount { get; set; }
public bool? SaveCard { get; set; }
public int? SmsCode { get; set; }
public BankCardDetails Card { get; set; }
}
public class BankCardDetails
{
public string Number { get; set; }
public string HolderName { get; set; }
public string ExpiryDate { get; set; }
public string ValidationCode { get; set; }
}
And the action method looks like:
[HttpPost]
[Route("api/v1/payment/pay")]
public Task<BankCardActionResponse> Pay([FromBody] PaymentRequest request)
{
if (request == null)
throw new HttpResponseException(HttpStatusCode.BadRequest);
return _paymentService.PayAsync(DataUserHelper.PhoneNumber, request);
}
I use Nlog. I think it's clear this is a bad idea to log all this bank data. My log config file contained the following line:
<attribute name="user-requestBody" layout="${aspnet-request-posted-body}"/>
I logged the request. I decided to refactor that and planned the following strategy. Actions that contain sensitive data into their requests I will mark with an attribute like
[RequestMethodFormatter(typeof(PaymentRequest))]
then take a look at my custom renderer:
[LayoutRenderer("http-request")]
public class NLogHttpRequestLayoutRenderer : AspNetRequestPostedBody
{
protected override void DoAppend(StringBuilder builder, LogEventInfo logEvent)
{
base.DoAppend(builder, logEvent);
var body = builder.ToString();
// Get attribute of the called action.
var type = ... // How can I get "PaymentRequest" from the [RequestMethodFormatter(typeof(PaymentRequest))]
var res = MaskHelper.GetMaskedJsonString(body, type);
// ... and so on
}
}
I think you understand the idea. I need the type from the method's RequestMethodFormatter attribute. Is it even possible to get it into the renderer? I need it because I'm going to deserialize request JSON into particular models (it's gonna be into the MaskHelper.GetMaskedJsonString), work with the models masking the data, serialize it back into JSON.
So, did I choose a wrong approach? Or it's possible to get the type from the attribute into the renderer?

After some research, I ended up with the following solution:
namespace ConsoleApp7
{
internal class Program
{
private static void Main()
{
var sourceJson = GetSourceJson();
var userInfo = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject(sourceJson, typeof(User));
Console.WriteLine("----- Serialize without Resolver-----");
Console.WriteLine(JsonConvert.SerializeObject(userInfo));
Console.WriteLine("----- Serialize with Resolver-----");
Console.WriteLine(JsonConvert.SerializeObject(userInfo, new JsonSerializerSettings
{
ContractResolver = new MaskPropertyResolver()
}));
}
private static string GetSourceJson()
{
var guid = Guid.Parse("3e92f0c4-55dc-474b-ae21-8b3dac1a0942");
return JsonConvert.SerializeObject(new User
{
UserId = guid,
Age = 19,
Name = "John",
BirthDate = new DateTime(1990, 5, 12),
Hobbies = new[]
{
new Hobby
{
Name = "Football",
Rating = 5,
DurationYears = 3,
},
new Hobby
{
Name = "Basketball",
Rating = 7,
DurationYears = 4,
}
}
});
}
}
public class User
{
[MaskGuidValue]
public Guid UserId { get; set; }
[MaskStringValue("***")] public string Name { get; set; }
public int Age { get; set; }
[MaskDateTimeValue]
public DateTime BirthDate { get; set; }
public Hobby[] Hobbies { get; set; }
}
public class Hobby
{
[MaskStringValue("----")]
public string Name { get; set; }
[MaskIntValue(replacement: 11111)]
public int Rating { get; set; }
public int DurationYears { get; set; }
}
public class MaskPropertyResolver : DefaultContractResolver
{
protected override IList<JsonProperty> CreateProperties(Type type, MemberSerialization memberSerialization)
{
var props = base.CreateProperties(type, memberSerialization);
var allowedPropertyTypes = new Type[]
{
typeof(Guid),
typeof(DateTime),
typeof(string),
typeof(int),
};
foreach (var prop in props.Where(p => allowedPropertyTypes.Contains(p.PropertyType)))
{
if (prop.UnderlyingName == null)
continue;
var propertyInfo = type.GetProperty(prop.UnderlyingName);
var attribute =
propertyInfo?.GetCustomAttributes().FirstOrDefault(x => x is IMaskAttribute) as IMaskAttribute;
if (attribute == null)
{
continue;
}
if (attribute.Type != propertyInfo.PropertyType)
{
// Log this case, cause somebody used wrong attribute
continue;
}
prop.ValueProvider = new MaskValueProvider(propertyInfo, attribute.Replacement, attribute.Type);
}
return props;
}
private class MaskValueProvider : IValueProvider
{
private readonly PropertyInfo _targetProperty;
private readonly object _replacement;
private readonly Type _type;
public MaskValueProvider(PropertyInfo targetProperty, object replacement, Type type)
{
_targetProperty = targetProperty;
_replacement = replacement;
_type = type;
}
public object GetValue(object target)
{
return _replacement;
}
public void SetValue(object target, object value)
{
_targetProperty.SetValue(target, value);
}
}
}
[AttributeUsage(AttributeTargets.Property)]
public class MaskStringValueAttribute : Attribute, IMaskAttribute
{
public Type Type => typeof(string);
public object Replacement { get; }
public MaskStringValueAttribute(string replacement)
{
Replacement = replacement;
}
}
[AttributeUsage(AttributeTargets.Property)]
public class MaskIntValueAttribute : Attribute, IMaskAttribute
{
public object Replacement { get; }
public Type Type => typeof(int);
public MaskIntValueAttribute(int replacement)
{
Replacement = replacement;
}
}
[AttributeUsage(AttributeTargets.Property)]
public class MaskGuidValueAttribute : Attribute, IMaskAttribute
{
public Type Type => typeof(Guid);
public object Replacement => Guid.Empty;
}
[AttributeUsage(AttributeTargets.Property)]
public class MaskDateTimeValueAttribute : Attribute, IMaskAttribute
{
public Type Type => typeof(DateTime);
public object Replacement => new DateTime(1970, 1, 1);
}
public interface IMaskAttribute
{
Type Type { get; }
object Replacement { get; }
}
}
I hope somebody will find it helpful.

You can try nuget package https://www.nuget.org/packages/Slin.Masking and https://www.nuget.org/packages/Slin.Masking.NLog.
It can easily be integrated with DotNet projects with slight changes, and you can define your rules for it. But the document needs some improvement.
As a suggestion, you can use two files:
masking.json (can be a generic one, that shared across all projects)
masking.custom.json (can be used with particular rules for specific projects)

How to serialize json with fields name as datamember only?

I have a POCO like this:
public class Process
{
public Process() { }
[DataMember(Name = "lang_code")]
public string LCode { get; set; }
[DataMember(Name = "data_currency")]
public string Currency { get; set; }
[DataMember(Name = "country_code")]
public string CCode { get; set; }
public override string ToString()
{
return JsonConvert.SerializeObject(this);
}
}
Now when I serialize my POCO I get json back like this which has field name:
{"LCode":"en-US","Currency":"USD","CCode":"IN"}
Is there any way to get it the way DataMember fields are after serializing POCO. Something like below:
{"lang_code":"en-US","data_currency":"USD","country_code":"IN"}
Below is the code we have:
ProcessStr = ExtractHeader(headers, PROCESS_HEADER);
Console.WriteLine(ProcessStr);
if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(ProcessStr))
{
Process = DeserializeJson<Process>(ProcessStr);
if (Process != null && !string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(Process.Gold))
{
Process.Gold = HttpUtility.HtmlEncode(Process.Gold);
}
ProcessStr = Process.ToString();
Console.WriteLine(ProcessStr);
}
private T DeserializeJson<T>(string str) where T : new()
{
try
{
return Utf8Json.JsonSerializer.Deserialize<T>(str);
}
catch (Exception e)
{
return new T();
}
}

It looks like you are using two different packages, Newtonsoft.Json to serialize and Utf8Json to deserialize. They use different annotations. You can get it to work, but it might be simpler to choose one or the other.
Newtonsoft.Json uses the JsonProperty attribute whereas Utf8Json uses the DataMember one.
using System;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.Runtime.Serialization;
using Newtonsoft.Json;
using Utf8Json;
namespace JSONPropertyTest
{
public class Process
{
public Process() { }
[JsonProperty("lang_code")]
[DataMember(Name = "lang_code")]
public string LCode { get; set; }
[JsonProperty("data_currency")]
[DataMember(Name = "data_currency")]
public string Currency { get; set; }
[JsonProperty("country_code")]
[DataMember(Name = "country_code")]
public string CCode { get; set; }
public override string ToString()
{
return JsonConvert.SerializeObject(this);
}
}
class Program
{
static private T DeserializeJson<T>(string str) where T : new()
{
try
{
return Utf8Json.JsonSerializer.Deserialize<T>(str);
}
catch (Exception e)
{
return new T();
}
}
static void Main(string[] args)
{
var test = new Process { LCode = "en-US",Currency = "USD", CCode = "IN" };
var json = test.ToString();
Console.WriteLine($"serialized={test}");
var deserialized = DeserializeJson<Process>(json);
Debug.Assert(test.CCode == deserialized.CCode);
Debug.Assert(test.LCode == deserialized.LCode);
Debug.Assert(test.Currency == deserialized.Currency);
Console.WriteLine($"deserialized={deserialized}");
}
}
}
To just use Utf8Json you need to update your ToString method, which is the only one in the code you've shown that relies on Newtonsoft.Json. That would look like this:
public class Process
{
public Process() { }
[DataMember(Name = "lang_code")]
public string LCode { get; set; }
[DataMember(Name = "data_currency")]
public string Currency { get; set; }
[DataMember(Name = "country_code")]
public string CCode { get; set; }
public override string ToString()
{
return Utf8Json.JsonSerializer.ToJsonString(this);
}
}

How do I get DataContractJsonSerializer to use concrete type in type hint when serializing generic class from interface

I have a set of classes as follows: a Command, which Executes and stores a Result;
a Response, which is created as in order to return the Result in a serialized form (plus extra metadata which I've left out). The Response.Result must be of type object, as it is used for a bunch of different commands, each of which can have a Result of any type at all.
The Command is generic, and I'd like it to accept an interface rather than concrete type, but when I do, the serialized response contains the following type hint: "__type":"ResultOfanyType:#serialization"
rather than the following, which is generated when the command accepts a concrete type:
"__type":"ResultOfMyObjectDhOQ6IBI:#serialization"
I need the type hint to contain the concrete type rather than ResultOfanyType. Why are interfaces being treated differently in this context? Notice that when the Type is a direct property of the serialized Command, then the concrete type is contained in the type hint
I've tried changing the the Result's Response property typed to Result, but that has no effect.
Here is the code. Simply uncomment/comment the lines in Main where the command is created and known types listed for the alternative version.
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.IO;
using System.Runtime.Serialization;
using System.Runtime.Serialization.Json;
namespace serialization
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
Response response = new Response();
response.ResponseStatus = "ok";
ConcreteCommand command = new ConcreteCommand(); //switch with line below to test inteface
//InterfaceCommand command = new InterfaceCommand();
command.Execute();
response.Results = command.Results;
List<Type> knownTypes = new List<Type>
{
typeof(Result<MyObject>), //switch with Interface lines below to test inteface
typeof(MyObject)
//typeof(Result<IMyObject>),
//typeof(IMyObject)
};
DataContractJsonSerializer serializer = new DataContractJsonSerializer(response.GetType(), knownTypes, int.MaxValue, false, null, true);
Stream stream = new MemoryStream();
serializer.WriteObject(stream, response);
stream.Position = 0;
StreamReader reader = new StreamReader(stream);
string output = reader.ReadToEnd();
Console.WriteLine(output);
}
}
public interface IMyObject
{
string name { get; set; }
}
[DataContract]
[KnownType(typeof(MyObject))]
public class MyObject : IMyObject
{
[DataMember]
public string name { get; set; }
}
[DataContract]
public class Result<T>
{
[DataMember]
public string Status { get; set; }
[DataMember]
public T Item { get; set; }
}
public abstract class BaseCommand<T>
{
protected Result<T> results = new Result<T>();
protected T resultObject;
public object Results
{
get { return this.results; }
}
public T ResultObject
{
get { return this.resultObject; }
}
public abstract void Execute();
}
public class InterfaceCommand : BaseCommand<IMyObject>
{
public override void Execute()
{
IMyObject myobject = new MyObject();
myobject.name = "my object";
Result<IMyObject> result = new Result<IMyObject>();
result.Item = myobject;
result.Status = "ok";
this.results= result;
this.resultObject = myobject;
}
}
public class ConcreteCommand : BaseCommand<MyObject>
{
public override void Execute()
{
MyObject myobject = new MyObject();
myobject.name = "my object";
Result<MyObject> result = new Result<MyObject>();
result.Item = myobject;
result.Status = "ok";
this.results = result;
this.resultObject = myobject;
}
}
[DataContract]
public class Response
{
[DataMember]
public string ResponseStatus { get; set; }
[DataMember]
public object Results { get; set; }
}
}

Let's start with this question and that might explain everything.
I need the type hint to contain the concrete type rather than ResultOfanyType. Why are interfaces being treated differently in this context?
An interface is basically just a contract for what a class implementing it should contain and multiple classes could implement its members. For example.
public interface IPerson
{
int Id { get; set; }
string FirstName { get; set; }
string LastName { get; set; }
}
public class Person : IPerson
{
public int Id { get; set; }
public string FirstName { get; set; }
public string LastName { get; set; }
public DateTime DateOfBirth { get; set; }
}
public class Contact : IPerson
{
public int Id { get; set; }
public string FirstName { get; set; }
public string LastName { get; set; }
public string Company { get; set; }
public string PhoneNumber { get; set; }
}
So when you call an IPerson what are you expecting back? A Person or a Contact? Each has an id and the basic components of a name, but each also has unique properties that IPerson doesn't even know exist. This is why when you try to get an interface to resolve to a concrete class, you're not going to get anywhere without some sort of factory class to figure out what you want. So in this case, if I wanted to resolve an IPerson, I'd add the following line of code...
var objectType = iPersonObject.GetType();
In your case, you'd want to try calling GetType() on result.Item. This tells .NET to look at the actual type of the object implementing the interface and return it.

How about this...
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
Response response = new Response();
response.ResponseStatus = "ok";
//ConcreteCommand command = new ConcreteCommand(); //switch with line below to test inteface
InterfaceCommand command = new InterfaceCommand();
command.Execute();
response.Results = command.Results;
List<Type> knownTypes = new List<Type>
{
typeof(MyObject),
typeof(Result<MyObject>) //switch with line below to test inteface
//typeof(Result<IMyObject>)
};
DataContractJsonSerializer serializer = new DataContractJsonSerializer(response.GetType(), knownTypes, int.MaxValue, false, null, true);
Stream stream = new MemoryStream();
serializer.WriteObject(stream, response);
stream.Position = 0;
StreamReader reader = new StreamReader(stream);
string output = reader.ReadToEnd();
Console.WriteLine(output);
}
}
public interface IMyObject
{
string name { get; set; }
}
[DataContract]
public class MyObject : IMyObject
{
[DataMember]
public string name { get; set; }
}
[DataContract]
public class Result<T>
{
[DataMember]
public string Status { get; set; }
[DataMember]
public T Item { get; set; }
}
public abstract class BaseCommand
{
protected Result<IMyObject> results = new Result<IMyObject>();
public Result<IMyObject> Results
{
get { return this.results; }
}
public abstract void Execute();
}
public class InterfaceCommand : BaseCommand
{
public override void Execute()
{
IMyObject myobject = new MyObject();
myobject.name = "my object";
Result<IMyObject> result = new Result<IMyObject>();
result.Item = myobject;
result.Status = "ok";
this.results= result;
}
}
public class ConcreteCommand : BaseCommand
{
public override void Execute()
{
MyObject myobject = new MyObject();
myobject.name = "my object";
Result<IMyObject> result = new Result<IMyObject>();
result.Item = myobject;
result.Status = "ok";
this.results = result;
}
}
[DataContract]
public class Response
{
[DataMember]
public string ResponseStatus { get; set; }
[DataMember]
public Result<IMyObject> Results { get; set; }
}
Outputs...
{"__type":"Response:#ConsoleApplication2","ResponseStatus":"ok","Results":{"__ty
pe":"ResultOfanyType:#ConsoleApplication2","Item":{"__type":"MyObject:#ConsoleAp
plication2","name":"my object"},"Status":"ok"}}
If you're trying to make some sort of generic contract, you're going to have to have some sort of common base class/interface. It won't work with object but you can go ala COM and make your own IUnknown interface from which to create as many subclasses as you like, as long as they are included within your known types.

Assigning a default value to a property

I have an xml like so:
<Settings>
<User default="Programmer"></User>
<Level default="2"></Level>
<Settings>
This is deserialized to an object of type UserSettings:
[Serializable]
[XmlRoot("Settings")]
public class UserSettings
{
[XmlElement("User")]
public string User { get; set; }
[XmlElement("Level")]
public string Level { get; set; }
}
The UserSettings object gives whatever the values are there for the tags at runtime.
I want the class to return the default attribute value when either the tag is empty or the tag is absent in the incoming xml.
So if there is an object objUserSettings of type UserSettings then
objUserSettings.User
should give "Programmer", or whatever is in default attribute value in the xml if the tag User is empty.
Regards.

Adding another answer because I had some fun with this question. Take it or leave it, but this is probably how I would attack this feature.
Here's an answer that is more complicated, but it gives you type safety using generics and most of the heavy lifting is done in one base class (no need to copy/paste the same code over and over).
Added a property to UserSettings to show an example of another type...
[Serializable]
[XmlRoot("Settings")]
public class UserSettings
{
public UserSettings()
{
User = new DefaultableStringValue();
Level = new DefaultableIntegerValue();
IsFullscreen = new DefaultableBooleanValue();
}
[XmlElement("User")]
public DefaultableStringValue User { get; set; }
[XmlElement("Level")]
public DefaultableIntegerValue Level { get; set; }
[XmlElement("IsFullscreen")]
public DefaultableBooleanValue IsFullscreen { get; set; }
}
Simple implementations of typed DefaultableValues...
[Serializable]
public class DefaultableStringValue : DefaultableValue<string>
{
public DefaultableStringValue() : base(s => s) { }
}
[Serializable]
public class DefaultableIntegerValue : DefaultableValue<int>
{
public DefaultableIntegerValue() : base(int.Parse) { }
}
[Serializable]
public class DefaultableBooleanValue : DefaultableValue<bool>
{
public DefaultableBooleanValue() : base(bool.Parse) { }
}
Base class that does all of the heavy lifting of parsing and caching parsed values...
[Serializable]
public abstract class DefaultableValue<T>
{
protected Func<string, T> _parsingFunc;
private string _valueText;
private T _cachedValue;
private bool _isValueCached;
private string _defaultText;
private T _cachedDefault;
private bool _isDefaultCached;
protected DefaultableValue(Func<string, T> parsingFunc)
{
_parsingFunc = parsingFunc;
_isValueCached = false;
_isDefaultCached = false;
}
[XmlAttribute("default")]
public string DefaultText
{
get { return _defaultText; }
set
{
_defaultText = value;
_isDefaultCached = false;
}
}
[XmlText]
public string ValueText
{
get { return _valueText; }
set
{
_valueText = value;
_isValueCached = false;
}
}
[XmlIgnore]
public T Default
{
get
{
if (_isDefaultCached)
return _cachedDefault;
if (HasDefault)
return ParseAndCacheValue(DefaultText, out _cachedDefault, out _isDefaultCached);
return default(T);
}
set
{
DefaultText = value.ToString();
_cachedDefault = value;
_isDefaultCached = true;
}
}
[XmlIgnore]
public T Value
{
get
{
if (_isValueCached)
return _cachedValue;
if (HasValue)
return ParseAndCacheValue(ValueText, out _cachedValue, out _isValueCached);
return Default;
}
set
{
ValueText = value.ToString();
_cachedValue = value;
_isValueCached = true;
}
}
[XmlIgnore]
public bool HasDefault { get { return !string.IsNullOrEmpty(_defaultText); } }
[XmlIgnore]
public bool HasValue { get { return !string.IsNullOrEmpty(_valueText); } }
private T ParseAndCacheValue(string text, out T cache, out bool isCached)
{
cache = _parsingFunc(text);
isCached = true;
return cache;
}
}
And a sample program to demonstrate usage...
public class Program
{
private static void Main(string[] args)
{
UserSettings userSettings = new UserSettings();
userSettings.User.Default = "Programmer";
userSettings.Level.Default = 2;
userSettings.Level.Value = 99;
XmlSerializer xmlSerializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(UserSettings));
string serializedUserSettings;
using (StringWriter stringWriter = new StringWriter())
{
xmlSerializer.Serialize(stringWriter, userSettings);
serializedUserSettings = stringWriter.GetStringBuilder().ToString();
}
UserSettings deserializedUserSettings;
using (StringReader stringReader = new StringReader(serializedUserSettings))
{
deserializedUserSettings = (UserSettings)xmlSerializer.Deserialize(stringReader);
}
Console.Out.WriteLine("User: HasDefault={0}, Default={1}, HasValue={2}, Value={3}",
deserializedUserSettings.User.HasDefault ? "Yes" : "No",
deserializedUserSettings.User.Default,
deserializedUserSettings.User.HasValue ? "Yes" : "No",
deserializedUserSettings.User.Value);
Console.Out.WriteLine("Level: HasDefault={0}, Default={1}, HasValue={2}, Value={3}",
deserializedUserSettings.Level.HasDefault ? "Yes" : "No",
deserializedUserSettings.Level.Default,
deserializedUserSettings.Level.HasValue ? "Yes" : "No",
deserializedUserSettings.Level.Value);
Console.Out.WriteLine("IsFullscreen: HasDefault={0}, Default={1}, HasValue={2}, Value={3}",
deserializedUserSettings.IsFullscreen.HasDefault ? "Yes" : "No",
deserializedUserSettings.IsFullscreen.Default,
deserializedUserSettings.IsFullscreen.HasValue ? "Yes" : "No",
deserializedUserSettings.IsFullscreen.Value);
Console.ReadLine();
}
}

Try this
using System.ComponentModel;
[Serializable]
[XmlRoot("Settings")]
public class UserSettings
{
[DefaultValue("Yogesh")]
[XmlElement("User")]
public string User { get; set; }
[DefaultValue("1st")]
[XmlElement("Level")]
public string Level { get; set; }
}
For more info see this.

You can use Default Value attribute for the property.
In you case it will be,
[Serializable]
[XmlRoot("Settings")]
public class UserSettings
{
[XmlElement("User")]
[DefaultValue("Programmer")]
public string User { get; set; }
[XmlElement("Level")]
[DefaultValue(2)]
public string Level { get; set; }
}

I don't believe there is a way to tell string to use that default xml attribute. You will have to deserialize each of those object into a structure that has the default value as a property which is an xml attribute.
Here's an example...
[Serializable]
[XmlRoot("Settings")]
public class UserSettings
{
[XmlElement("User")]
public DefaultableValue User { get; set; }
[XmlElement("Level")]
public DefaultableValue Level { get; set; }
}
[Serializable]
public class DefaultableValue
{
[XmlAttribute("default")]
public string Default { get; set; }
[XmlText]
public string Value { get; set; }
}
And sample program to demonstrate usage...
public class Program
{
private static void Main(string[] args)
{
UserSettings userSettings = new UserSettings();
userSettings.User = new DefaultableValue()
{
Default = "Programmer",
Value = "Tyler"
};
userSettings.Level = new DefaultableValue()
{
Default = "2",
Value = "99"
};
XmlSerializer xmlSerializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(UserSettings));
string serializedUserSettings;
using (StringWriter stringWriter = new StringWriter())
{
xmlSerializer.Serialize(stringWriter, userSettings);
serializedUserSettings = stringWriter.GetStringBuilder().ToString();
}
UserSettings deserializedUserSettings;
using (StringReader stringReader = new StringReader(serializedUserSettings))
{
deserializedUserSettings = (UserSettings)xmlSerializer.Deserialize(stringReader);
}
Console.Out.WriteLine("User: Default={0}, Actual={1}",
deserializedUserSettings.User.Default,
deserializedUserSettings.User.Value);
Console.Out.WriteLine("Level: Default={0}, Actual={1}",
deserializedUserSettings.Level.Default,
deserializedUserSettings.Level.Value);
}
}
(Note that I have the default values in code, but they very well could have come from the xml file)

MVC 3 model binding with underscores

I'm posting json with variables names with underscores (like_this) and attempting to bind to a model that is camelcased (LikeThis), but the values are unable to be bound.
I know I could write a custom model binder, but since the underscored convention is so common I'd expect that a solution already existed.
The action/model I'm trying to post to is:
/* in controller */
[HttpPost]
public ActionResult UpdateArgLevel(UserArgLevelModel model) {
// do something with the data
}
/* model */
public class UserArgLevelModel {
public int Id { get; set; }
public string FirstName { get; set; }
public string Surname { get; set; }
public int ArgLevelId { get; set; }
}
and the json data is like:
{
id: 420007,
first_name: "Marc",
surname: "Priddes",
arg_level_id: 4
}
(Unfortunately I can't change either the naming of either the json or the model)

You can start writing a custom Json.NET ContractResolver:
public class DeliminatorSeparatedPropertyNamesContractResolver :
DefaultContractResolver
{
private readonly string _separator;
protected DeliminatorSeparatedPropertyNamesContractResolver(char separator)
: base(true)
{
_separator = separator.ToString();
}
protected override string ResolvePropertyName(string propertyName)
{
var parts = new List<string>();
var currentWord = new StringBuilder();
foreach (var c in propertyName)
{
if (char.IsUpper(c) && currentWord.Length > 0)
{
parts.Add(currentWord.ToString());
currentWord.Clear();
}
currentWord.Append(char.ToLower(c));
}
if (currentWord.Length > 0)
{
parts.Add(currentWord.ToString());
}
return string.Join(_separator, parts.ToArray());
}
}
This is for your particular case, becase you need a snake case ContractResolver:
public class SnakeCasePropertyNamesContractResolver :
DeliminatorSeparatedPropertyNamesContractResolver
{
public SnakeCasePropertyNamesContractResolver() : base('_') { }
}
Then you can write a custom attribute to decorate your controller actions:
public class JsonFilterAttribute : ActionFilterAttribute
{
public string Parameter { get; set; }
public Type JsonDataType { get; set; }
public JsonSerializerSettings Settings { get; set; }
public override void OnActionExecuting(ActionExecutingContext filterContext)
{
if (filterContext.HttpContext.Request.ContentType.Contains("application/json"))
{
string inputContent;
using (var reader = new StreamReader(filterContext.HttpContext.Request.InputStream))
{
inputContent = reader.ReadToEnd();
}
var result = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject(inputContent, JsonDataType, Settings ?? new JsonSerializerSettings());
filterContext.ActionParameters[Parameter] = result;
}
}
}
And finally:
[JsonFilter(Parameter = "model", JsonDataType = typeof(UserArgLevelModel), Settings = new JsonSerializerSettings { ContractResolver = new SnakeCasePropertyNamesContractResolver() })]
public ActionResult UpdateArgLevel(UserArgLevelModel model) {
{
// model is deserialized correctly!
}