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Deserialize JSON to Dictionary<string, List<string>>

I am very new to JSON, so I may have missed something. But here's what I am attempting.
I want to Deserialize the following type of JSON
{
"Size":
{
"Creature":
{
"Dragon":
[
"Huge",
"Colossal",
"Mountain-sized"
],
"Wolf":
[
"Pup",
"Fully grown",
"Giant"
]
},
"Building":
[
"Small",
"Medium",
"Large"
]
}
}
The core function of the JSON is intended so that I am not sure how nested it may become over time. With creature having subtypes depending on what kind of creature it is, and same for building and so on.
I've attempted with this code
using StreamReader r = new StreamReader("Storage.json");
string json = r.ReadToEnd();
CoreStorageDict = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<Dictionary<string, List<string>>>(json);
I would like to Deserialize it into a dictionary as directly as possible, but I've yet to find a good way to do it and I think I am missing something fundamental about the whole system.
Is the JSON wrong or is my code wrong? Or both perhaps?

If you define the following classes:
public class Creature
{
public IList<string> Dragon { get; set; }
public IList<string> Wolf { get; set; }
}
public class Size
{
public Creature Creature { get; set; }
public IList<string> Building { get; set; }
}
public class Example
{
public Size Size { get; set; }
}
and then try to deserialize your json you will make it. You can alter the name of classes as you want. For the names above you have just to do this:
var result = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<Example>(json);
What is the problem with the approach you followed ?
The problem is that you have nested types. So you have to declare each and any type properly in order the deserialization work.
How you can find which classes are needed to be declared ?
There are may tools out there that do this job. The one I used is the following one JSON Utils. Provided that you have a valid json, these tools can auto generate the required classes. If I am correct, also Visual Studio, provides you with such a functionality.

Making classes is definitely a good way to do it and I agree with Christos.
However if you're doing a one-time thing and don't want to bother making classes you can hack it by deserializing the whole thing to dynamic and then re-serializing and deserializing the part you need, to your expected type, like this.
var json = #"{
""Size"": {
""Creature"": {
""Dragon"": [
""Huge"",
""Colossal"",
""Mountain-sized""
],
""Wolf"": [
""Pup"",
""Fully grown"",
""Giant""
]
},
""Building"": [
""Small"",
""Medium"",
""Large""
]
}
}";
var deserialized = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<dynamic>(json);
var thePartYouWant = deserialized.Size.Creature;
var dict = (Dictionary<string, List<string>>) JsonConvert
.DeserializeObject<Dictionary<string, List<string>>>(
(JsonConvert.SerializeObject(thePartYouWant)));
dict.Keys.ToList().ForEach(Console.WriteLine);

C# deserializing weirdly formatted JSON array

I'm working on a client library for an accounting software. Communication is done via HTTP API, which return JSON responses. Till now JSON has been quite ordinary and translates easily into classes for Json.Net parsing. But there is a query, where it returns a very weird array - each array member has a title (which has no importance) and is treated like different object (100% identical members). Last time I was dealing with it, I wrote a little helper to remove the keys and replaced {} with [], but I wonder, if I can use Json.NET directly to parse this correctly.
I'm using latest stable Json.Net, .Net Framework 4.6 and deserialize using JsonConvert.DeserializeObject.
Json array, which doesn't parse
{
...
"warehouses": {
"1": {
"warehouseID": 1,
"totalInStock": 0,
...
},
"2": {
"warehouseID": 2,
"totalInStock": 0,
...
},
"3": {
"warehouseID": 3,
"totalInStock": 0,
...
},
"4": {
"warehouseID": 4,
"totalInStock": 0,
...
}
},
...
}
Classes
public class MainObject{
...
public List<Warehouse> warehouses { get; set;}
...
}
public class Warehouse{
public int warehouseID { get; set; }
public string totalInStock { get; set; }
...
}
'Cannot deserialize the current JSON object (e.g. {"name":"value"}) into type 'System.Collections.Generic.List`1[Warehouse]' because the type requires a JSON array (e.g. [1,2,3]) to deserialize correctly.

Thats not an array, its a key-value map. The corresponding class in C# would be a Dictionary<TKey,TValue>.
Refactor into the following:
public class MainObject{
...
public Dictionary<int, Warehouse> warehouses { get; set;}
...
}

c# Deserialize unlabelled JSON array

I am attempting to deserialize a piece of JSON with a specific structure like so:
{
"label1": "value1",
"label2": [
[
[
"concept_id_1",
"concept_1"
],
score_1
],
[
[
"concept_id_2",
"concept_2"
],
score_2
],
……
],
"label3": "value3",
"label4": "value4"
}
For what it's worth, the scores are floats and everything else is a string. The number of returned concepts under "label2" is variable.
I'm attempting to deserialize it using JSON.net. The only content I actually care about is the inside nest of arrays labelled "label2", however the lack of labels inside the arrays is blocking me at every turn.
I've tried a variety of approaches, but the most successful so far seems to be this:
public class Parsed_JSON {
public string label1 { get; set; }
public ICollection<Full_Result> label2 { get; set; }
public string label3 { get; set; }
public string label4 { get; set; }
}
public class Full_Result {
public IList<string> values { get; set; }
public float score { get; set; }
}
Parsed_JSON result = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<Parsed_JSON>(JSON);
However this is failing with the error:
Cannot deserialize the current JSON array (e.g. [1,2,3]) into type 'JSON_Parsing+Full_Result' because the type requires a JSON object (e.g. {"name":"value"}) to deserialize correctly.
To fix this error either change the JSON to a JSON object (e.g. {"name":"value"}) or change the deserialized type to an array or a type that implements a collection interface (e.g. ICollection, IList) like List that can be deserialized from a JSON array. JsonArrayAttribute can also be added to the type to force it to deserialize from a JSON array.
Ultimately I'll be looking to iterate through the contents of label2 so that I can build a DataTable of them like so:
concept_id_1 concept_1 score_1
concept_id_2 concept_2 score_2
How can I deserialize this JSON?

You can use the custom JsonConverter ObjectToArrayConverter<Full_Result> from this answer to C# JSON.NET - Deserialize response that uses an unusual data structure to deserialize your JSON into your existing typed data model. Modify Full_Result as follows:
[JsonConverter(typeof(ObjectToArrayConverter<Full_Result>))]
public class Full_Result
{
[JsonProperty(Order = 1)]
public IList<string> values { get; set; }
[JsonProperty(Order = 2)]
public float score { get; set; }
}
And you will now be able to deserialize as follows:
Parsed_JSON result = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<Parsed_JSON>(JSON);
Notes:
ObjectToArrayConverter<T> works by mapping the serializable members of T to an array, where the array sequence is defined by the value of the JsonPropertyAttribute.Order attribute applied to each member. Data contract attributes with DataMemberAttribute.Order set could be used instead, if you prefer.
In your JSON the "score" values are not actually numbers:
score_1
score_2
I am assuming that this is a typo in the question and that these values are in fact well-formed numbers as defined by the JSON standard.
Sample fiddle here.

How do I deserialize this JSON?

How do I deserialize the following JSON with Web API (JSON.Net)?:
{
"action": "edit",
"table": "MainView",
"id": "row_1377",
"_group_id": "999",
"data": {
"ROTATION": "1", // This name/val can change
"EQUIPMENT": [{
"id": "6"
},
{
"id": "8"
}],
"NOTES": ""
}
}
The values in data represent columns and can change, so I can't make a set-in-stone object with e.g. a string named "NOTES" as in json.net deserialize string to nested class.
Notice EQUIPMENT contains multiple values. When it was previously just a "string:string" like NOTES, this JSON deserialized data into a Dictionary<string, string>, but now I need it to behave like its own dictionary. My last attempt was to deserialize into the following type:
public class EditorSubmissionJoined
{
public string _group_id { get; set; }
public string action { get; set; }
public string table { get; set; }
public string id { get; set; }
// "public" added below due to mistake noticed by Maggie Ying
public Dictionary<string, object> data { get; set; } // Trouble
}
I was hoping that the object could contain anything in data whether a KeyValuePair (like NOTES) or a dictionary (like EQUIPMENT).
I've also tried Dictionary<string, ICollection<Object>>, Object, and even ICollection<Dictionary<string, Object>>.
The problem is that my controller always gets EditorSubmissionJoined with nothing but null values:
public void Put(EditorSubmissionJoined ajaxSubmission) {
// ajaxSubmission has only NULL values
}

Try setting your 'data' property to public and your JSON should be able to model bind correctly.

There's a few ways you can do it. One way is to simply use a JObject and access the fields by name e.g. : jsonObject["data"]["ROTATION"]. You can "deserialize" that with JObject.Parse and just "parse" the JSON text into a JObject.
Alternatively you can write your own JsonConverter and tell JSON.net to use that converter when deserializing a specific type (e.g. JsonConverterAttribute). This requires parsing parts of the JSON text manually, in the ReadJson override, and really depends on what data you expect.
You can also use the dynamic approach that Preston commented on.
Which approach you pick depends on how strongly-typed you want things to be.

Deserializing JSON using C#

Finding some difficulty in sourcing information in trying to deserialize JSON in C#.
I have results from Google custom search returned in JSON format. I just want to check through my steps and establish the order in trying to deserialize it. Is this right?
I need to create classes to match
the JSON format. Kind of like a
creating schema file.
Use the JavaScriptSerializer() class and
deserialize method to extract the
relevant bits.
One of the issues I think I am going to run into is that I don't require all of the data returned but only the html links. How can I achieve that?
UPDATE
I have updated my question with the following JSON snippet and C# code. I want to output the string 'links' to console but it doesn't seem to be working. I think I am defining my classes wrongly?
JSON from Google Custom Search
handleResponse({
"kind": "customsearch#search",
"url": {
"type": "application/json",
"template": "https://www.googleapis.com/customsearch/v1?q\u003d{searchTerms}&num\u003d{count?}&start\u003d{startIndex?}&hr\u003d{language?}&safe\u003d{safe?}&cx\u003d{cx?}&cref\u003d{cref?}&sort\u003d{sort?}&alt\u003djson"
},
"queries": {
"nextPage": [
{
"title": "Google Custom Search - lectures",
"totalResults": 9590000,
"searchTerms": "lectures",
"count": 1,
"startIndex": 2,
"inputEncoding": "utf8",
"outputEncoding": "utf8",
"cx": "017576662512468239146:omuauf_lfve"
}
],
"request": [
{
"title": "Google Custom Search - lectures",
"totalResults": 9590000,
"searchTerms": "lectures",
"count": 1,
"startIndex": 1,
"inputEncoding": "utf8",
"outputEncoding": "utf8",
"cx": "017576662512468239146:omuauf_lfve"
}
]
},
"context": {
"title": "Curriculum",
"facets": [
[
{
"label": "lectures",
"anchor": "Lectures"
}
],
[
{
"label": "assignments",
"anchor": "Assignments"
}
],
[
{
"label": "reference",
"anchor": "Reference"
}
]
]
},
"items": [
{
"kind": "customsearch#result",
"title": "EE364a: Lecture Videos",
"htmlTitle": "EE364a: \u003cb\u003eLecture\u003c/b\u003e Videos",
"link": "http://www.stanford.edu/class/ee364a/videos.html",
"displayLink": "www.stanford.edu",
"snippet": "Apr 7, 2010 ... Course materials. Lecture slides · Lecture videos (2008) · Review sessions. Assignments. Homework · Reading. Exams. Final exam ...",
"htmlSnippet": "Apr 7, 2010 \u003cb\u003e...\u003c/b\u003e Course materials. \u003cb\u003eLecture\u003c/b\u003e slides · \u003cb\u003eLecture\u003c/b\u003e videos (2008) · Review sessions. \u003cbr\u003e Assignments. Homework · Reading. Exams. Final exam \u003cb\u003e...\u003c/b\u003e",
"cacheid": "TxVqFzFZLOsJ"
}
]
}
);
C# Snippet
public class GoogleSearchResults
{
public string link { get; set; }
}
public class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
//input search term
Console.WriteLine("What is your search query?:");
string searchTerm = Console.ReadLine();
//concantenate the strings using + symbol to make it URL friendly for google
string searchTermFormat = searchTerm.Replace(" ", "+");
//create a new instance of Webclient and use DownloadString method from the Webclient class to extract download html
WebClient client = new WebClient();
string Json = client.DownloadString("https://www.googleapis.com/customsearch/v1?key=My Key&cx=My CX&q=" + searchTermFormat);
//create a new instance of JavaScriptSerializer and deserialise the desired content
JavaScriptSerializer js = new JavaScriptSerializer();
GoogleSearchResults results = js.Deserialize<GoogleSearchResults>(Json);
Console.WriteLine(results);
//Console.WriteLine(htmlDoc);
Console.ReadLine();
}
}
Thanks

I use your #2 approach: deserialize with the JavaScriptSerializer.
This is what I do to deserialize a response from Facebook:
// get the id for the uploaded photo
var jss = new JavaScriptSerializer();
var resource = jss.Deserialize<Facebook.Data.Resource>(responseText);
....where Facebook.Data.Resource is defined like this:
namespace Facebook.Data
{
public class Resource
{
public string id { get; set; }
}
}
The responseText that I am deserializing from looks like this:
{"id":"10150111918987952",
"from":{"name":"Someone",
"id":"782272221"},
"name":"uploaded from Cropper. (at 12\/15\/2010 7:06:41 AM)",
"picture":"http:\/\/photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net\/hphotos-ak-snc4\/hs817.snc4\/69790_101501113333332_782377951_7551951_8193638_s.jpg",
...
But since I have only one property defined in the Resource class, I only deserialize that. Define the fields in your class that you want to deserialize.
It works to use inheritance, of course. You can define your data classes like this:
namespace Facebook.Data
{
public class Resource
{
public string id { get; set; }
}
public class Person : Resource
{
public string name { get; set; }
}
}
...and then you can deserialize a Person object.
EDIT
Ok, given the sample json you provided in the updated question, here's how I wrote the classes to hold the response:
public class GoogleSearchItem
{
public string kind { get; set; }
public string title { get; set; }
public string link { get; set; }
public string displayLink { get; set; }
// and so on... add more properties here if you want
// to deserialize them
}
public class SourceUrl
{
public string type { get; set; }
public string template { get; set; }
}
public class GoogleSearchResults
{
public string kind { get; set; }
public SourceUrl url { get; set; }
public GoogleSearchItem[] items { get; set; }
// and so on... add more properties here if you want to
// deserialize them
}
And here's the C# code to deserialize:
// create a new instance of JavaScriptSerializer
JavaScriptSerializer s1 = new JavaScriptSerializer();
// deserialise the received response
GoogleSearchResults results = s1.Deserialize<GoogleSearchResults>(json);
Console.WriteLine(s1.Serialize(results));
Some comments:
The toplevel class to hold the search result is called GoogleSearchResults.
The first property in the GoogleSearchResults class is kind, corresponding to the first named property in the json object. You had link which isn't going to work, because link is not the name of a top-level property in that json object. There are properties lower in the hierarchy of your json named "link" but JavaScriptSerializer won't pull out those lower level things into the higher level.
The next property in my GoogleSearchResults class is of type SourceUrl. This is because the url property in the json is not a simple string - it is a json object with two properties, each with a string value. So SourceUrl as a class in C# gets two string properties, each with the appropriate name to deserialize one of those named properties.
the next property in the GoogleSearchResults class is called "items" so that it can deserialize the items dictionary from your json. Now items, as the name suggests, is an array in the json, as denoted by the square bracket around its value. This means there can be more than one item, although in your case there is just one item. So this property in C# must be an array (or collection). Each item in the json result is not a simple string, so, once again, as we did with SourceUrl, we need to define a holder class to deserialize the item object: GoogleSearchItem. This class has a bunch of simple string properties. The properties in the C# class could also be of type int or some other type, if that's what the json requires.
finally, when printing out the result, if you just call Console.WriteLine(result) you will see the result of the ToString() method that is implicitly invoked by Console.WriteLine. This will merely print the name of the type, in this case is "GoogleSearchResults", which is not what you want, I think. In order to see what's in the object, you need to serialize it, as I've shown. In the output of that, you will see only the values of things you deserialized. Using the classes I provided, the result will have less information than the original, because I didn't provide properties in the C# class corresponding to some of the json properties, so those weren't deserialized.

You could take a look at Json.NET and its LINQ support to create and query JSON. By crafting a nice LINQ query you will get only the stuff you need (you can select, group by, count, min, max, whatever you like).

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb412170.aspx
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb410770.aspx
Pull out the property you need after you have converted the JSON representation to a type in your C# app. I don't think there's a way to extract only one property from the JSON representation before you have converted it (though I am not sure).