Develop Reference

Custom converter for deserialization not firing or not hitting break point in Web API

I have a converter like this
class MultiFormatDateConverter : JsonConverter
{
public List<string> DateTimeFormats { get; set; }
public override bool CanConvert(Type objectType)
{
return objectType == typeof(DateTime);
}
public override bool CanWrite
{
get { return false; }
}
public override void WriteJson(JsonWriter writer, object value, Newtonsoft.Json.JsonSerializer serializer)
{
throw new NotImplementedException();
}
public override object ReadJson(JsonReader reader, Type objectType, object existingValue, Newtonsoft.Json.JsonSerializer serializer)
{
string dateString = (string)reader.Value;
DateTime date;
foreach (string format in DateTimeFormats)
{
// adjust this as necessary to fit your needs
if (DateTime.TryParseExact(dateString, format, CultureInfo.InvariantCulture, DateTimeStyles.None, out date))
return date;
}
throw new System.Text.Json.JsonException("Unable to parse \"" + dateString + "\" as a date.");
}
}
and here is the configuration
var settings = new JsonSerializerSettings();
settings.DateParseHandling = DateParseHandling.None;
settings.Converters.Add(new MultiFormatDateConverter
{
DateTimeFormats = new List<string> { "yyyyMMddTHHmmssZ", "yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm","MMMM yyyy","dd/MM/yyyy","dd/MM/yy","MMM-yy","MMM yy"
}
});
and here is how I am calling it:
List<KipReport> rpt730 = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<List<KipReport>>(responseBody, settings);
This is the JSON and class
[
{
"Name":"Alex",
"MonthWorked":"January 2021",
"LastEdtDate":"16/02/2021",
"LastEditBy":"san"
}
]
class KipReport
{
public string Name { get; set; }
public DateTime? MonthWorked { get; set; }
public DateTime? LastEditDate { get; set; }
}
Mine is a web API and here is the controller which calls the function. Please note it calls the function as Task.Run()
[HttpGet]
public async Task<IActionResult> Get()
{
await Task.Run(()=>_kReport.GetKReports());
return Accepted();
}
When executing it says
16/03/2021 is not a valid date format
Then I used this way for converting than a converter
var settings = new IsoDateTimeConverter { DateTimeFormat = "dd/MM/yyyy" };
Then error is with January 2021 is not a valid date
Does it means, it's not considering the converter??
Since I have a different format for dates I am using a converter.
So for Web API/Task.Run do we need to do anything specific for the Custom converter?

Your properties are of type DateTime? (i.e. nullable value types) so in CanConvert you must check for objectType == typeof(DateTime?) as well as objectType == typeof(DateTime). Then, in Read(), if the incoming objectType is typeof(DateTime?) you should return null in the event of a null JSON token.
The following fixed converter does this and also skips comments:
class MultiFormatDateConverter : JsonConverter
{
public List<string> DateTimeFormats { get; set; } = new ();
public override bool CanConvert(Type objectType) =>
objectType == typeof(DateTime) || objectType == typeof(DateTime?);
public override bool CanWrite => false;
public override void WriteJson(JsonWriter writer, object value, Newtonsoft.Json.JsonSerializer serializer) => throw new NotImplementedException();
public override object ReadJson(JsonReader reader, Type objectType, object existingValue, Newtonsoft.Json.JsonSerializer serializer)
{
if (reader.MoveToContent().TokenType == JsonToken.Null)
return objectType == typeof(DateTime?) ? null : throw new System.Text.Json.JsonException("Unable to parse null as a date.");
else if (reader.TokenType != JsonToken.String)
throw new System.Text.Json.JsonException("Unable to parse token \"" + reader.TokenType + "\" as a date.");
string dateString = (string)reader.Value;
foreach (string format in DateTimeFormats)
{
// adjust this as necessary to fit your needs
if (DateTime.TryParseExact(dateString, format, CultureInfo.InvariantCulture, DateTimeStyles.None, out var date))
return date;
}
throw new System.Text.Json.JsonException("Unable to parse \"" + dateString + "\" as a date.");
}
}
public static partial class JsonExtensions
{
public static JsonReader MoveToContent(this JsonReader reader)
{
while ((reader.TokenType == JsonToken.Comment || reader.TokenType == JsonToken.None) && reader.Read())
;
return reader;
}
}
Notes:
In your JSON you have a property named "LastEdtDate" while the corresponding c# property is LastEditDate. The JSON property name is missing the letter i in Edit and so will not get bound to the c# property. I assume this is a typo in the question, but if not, you will need to add [JsonProperty("LastEdtDate")] to LastEditDate.
Demo fiddle here.

Convert empty strings to null with Json.Net

I'm having trouble finding a way to automatically deserialize (server side) all EmptyOrWhiteSpace strings to null . Json.Net by default simply assigns the value to the object property, and I need to verify string by string whether it is empty or white space, and then set it to null.
I need this to be done upon deserialization, so I don't have to remember to verify every single string that comes from the client.
How can I override this on Json Net?

After a lot of source digging, I solved my problem.
Turns out all the solutions proposed in the comments only work if I am deserializing a complex object which contains a property that is a string.
In this case, yes, simply modifying the contract resolver works [1].
However, what I needed was a way to convert any string to null upon deserialization, and modifying the contract this way will fail for the case where my object is just a string, i.e.,
public void MyMethod(string jsonSomeInfo)
{
// At this point, jsonSomeInfo is "\"\"",
// an emmpty string.
var deserialized = new JsonSerializer().Deserialize(new StringReader(jsonSomeInfo), typeof(string));
// deserialized = "", event if I used the modified contract resolver [1].
}
What happens is that when we work with a complex object, internally JSON.NET assigns a TokenType of JsonToken.StartObject to the reader, which will cause the deserialization to follow a certain path where property.ValueProvider.SetValue(target, value); is called.
However, if the object is just a string, the TokenType will be JsonToken.String, and the path will be different, and the value provider will never be invoked.
In any event, my solution was to build a custom converter to convert JsonReaders that have TokenType == JsonToken.String (code below).
Solution
public class StringConverter : JsonConverter
{
public override bool CanConvert(Type objectType)
{
return objectType == typeof(string);
}
public override object ReadJson(JsonReader reader, Type objectType, object existingValue, JsonSerializer serializer)
{
if (reader.Value == null) return null;
string text = reader.Value.ToString();
if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(text))
{
return null;
}
return text;
}
public override void WriteJson(JsonWriter writer, object value, JsonSerializer serializer)
{
throw new NotImplementedException("Not needed because this converter cannot write json");
}
public override bool CanWrite
{
get { return false; }
}
}
[1] Credits to #Raphaël Althaus.
public class NullToEmptyStringResolver : DefaultContractResolver
{
protected override IList<JsonProperty> CreateProperties(Type type, MemberSerialization memberSerialization)
{
return type.GetProperties()
.Select(p => {
var jp = base.CreateProperty(p, memberSerialization);
jp.ValueProvider = new EmptyToNullStringValueProvider(p);
return jp;
}).ToList();
}
}
public class EmptyToNullStringValueProvider : IValueProvider
{
PropertyInfo _MemberInfo;
public EmptyToNullStringValueProvider(PropertyInfo memberInfo)
{
_MemberInfo = memberInfo;
}
public object GetValue(object target)
{
object result = _MemberInfo.GetValue(target);
if (_MemberInfo.PropertyType == typeof(string) && result != null && string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(result.ToString()))
{
result = null;
}
return result;
}
public void SetValue(object target, object value)
{
if (_MemberInfo.PropertyType == typeof(string) && value != null && string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(value.ToString()))
{
value = null;
}
_MemberInfo.SetValue(target, value);
}
}

JsonConverter: Return a single object or a List<Object> based on inbound JSON

When my API sends back a single object, we'll call it Item (A GetEntity in OData terms), it looks like this:
{
"d" : {
"Item" : "123456",
"OldItem" : "78921",
}
}
When I grab a set of the same object, i.e. returning List of Item, I get:
{
"d":{
"results":[
{
"Item":"343431",
"OldItem":"21314"
},
{
"Item":"341321",
"OldItem":"43563"
}
]
}
}
Other than the obvious "d" base node I need to get rid of, I'm having trouble attempting to use the same class in C# to do this. I have an Item class as such:
public class Material : IEntity
{
[JsonProperty("Item")]
public string material_number { get; set; }
[JsonProperty("OldItem")]
public string old_material_number { get; set; }
// Methods
public Material() {}
public bool Validate() { throw new NotImplementedException(); }
}
I'd like to be able to call a custom JsonConverter to handle this, but I haven't been able to get some of the example out there for single object, array converters to work. Ideally, I should be able to call:
JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<T> where T is either Material or List<Material>. How can I build a JsonConverter to handle both scenarios?
I'm calling the JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<T> as such:
if (response.IsSuccessStatusCode)
{
return JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<T>(JObject.Parse(response.Content.ReadAsStringAsync().Result).SelectToken("d").ToString());
}
else
{
throw new Exception("Service Error");
}

Here is a JsonConverter that should work for your situation. Note that if there are any other JSON formats you could receive that are not shown in your question -- for example, if d can have a value of null when there are no results -- you may need to make adjustments to the converter. Currently it will throw an exception if it encounters something it does not expect, but you could make it return null or an empty list instead, if you prefer.
public class MaterialArrayConverter : JsonConverter
{
public override object ReadJson(JsonReader reader, Type objectType, object existingValue, JsonSerializer serializer)
{
JToken token = JToken.Load(reader);
if (token.Type == JTokenType.Object)
{
JToken results = token["results"];
if (results != null && results.Type == JTokenType.Array)
{
// we've got multiple items; deserialize to a list
return results.ToObject<List<Material>>(serializer);
}
else if (results == null)
{
// "results" property not present; return a list of one item
return new List<Material> { token.ToObject<Material>(serializer) };
}
}
// some other format we're not expecting
throw new JsonSerializationException("Unexpected JSON format encountered in MaterialArrayConverter: " + token.ToString());
}
public override void WriteJson(JsonWriter writer, object value, JsonSerializer serializer)
{
throw new NotImplementedException();
}
public override bool CanWrite
{
get { return false; }
}
public override bool CanConvert(Type objectType)
{
// CanConvert is not called when [JsonConverter] attribute is used
return false;
}
}
You can use it by making a RootObject class annotated as shown below and then deserializing your JSON into that:
public class RootObject
{
[JsonProperty("d")]
[JsonConverter(typeof(MaterialArrayConverter))]
public List<Material> Materials { get; set; }
}
Then:
var root = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<RootObject>(json);
From there you can retrieve the list of materials and use it as you see fit.
Fiddle: https://dotnetfiddle.net/tKb6Ke

Assuming you want to return your material(s) in a collection, you can use the following generic JsonConverter
public class SingleOrResultListConverter<T> : JsonConverter
{
public override bool CanConvert(Type objectType)
{
return typeof(ICollection<T>).IsAssignableFrom(objectType);
}
const string Results = "results";
public override object ReadJson(JsonReader reader, Type objectType, object existingValue, JsonSerializer serializer)
{
if (reader.TokenType == JsonToken.Null)
return null;
if (objectType.IsArray)
{
var list = (List<T>)ReadJson(reader, typeof(List<T>), new List<T>(), serializer);
return list.ToArray();
}
else
{
var list = (ICollection<T>)(existingValue ?? serializer.ContractResolver.ResolveContract(objectType).DefaultCreator());
if (reader.TokenType == JsonToken.StartArray)
{
serializer.Populate(reader, list);
}
else if (reader.TokenType == JsonToken.StartObject)
{
JObject obj = null;
while (reader.Read())
{
switch (reader.TokenType)
{
case JsonToken.PropertyName:
string propertyName = reader.Value.ToString();
if (!reader.Read())
{
throw new JsonSerializationException("Unexpected end while reading collection");
}
if (propertyName == Results)
{
serializer.Populate(reader, list);
}
else
{
obj = obj ?? new JObject();
obj[propertyName] = JToken.Load(reader);
}
break;
case JsonToken.Comment:
break;
case JsonToken.EndObject:
if (obj != null)
list.Add(obj.ToObject<T>(serializer));
return list;
}
}
throw new JsonSerializationException("Unexpected end while reading collection");
}
else
{
throw new JsonSerializationException("Unexpected start token: " + reader.TokenType);
}
return list;
}
}
public override void WriteJson(JsonWriter writer, object value, JsonSerializer serializer)
{
var collection = (ICollection<T>)value;
if (collection.Count == 1)
{
serializer.Serialize(writer, collection.First());
}
else
{
writer.WriteStartObject();
writer.WritePropertyName(Results);
writer.WriteStartArray();
foreach (var item in collection)
{
serializer.Serialize(writer, item);
}
writer.WriteEndArray();
writer.WriteEndObject();
}
}
}
Then use it as follows:
var obj = JObject.Parse(json);
var subObj = obj["d"] ?? obj; // Strip the "d".
var settings = new JsonSerializerSettings { Converters = new[] { new SingleOrResultListConverter<Material>() } };
var list = subObj.ToObject<List<Material>>(JsonSerializer.CreateDefault(settings));
Or if you prefer an array to a List<T>:
var array = subObj.ToObject<Material[]>(JsonSerializer.CreateDefault(settings));
Prototype fiddle.
Update
You need to make sure you are allocating and passing your converter to Json.NET. Since your deserialization method is generic, you'll need to do something generic, like so:
var json = response.Content.ReadAsStringAsync().Result;
var converters = typeof(T).GetCollectionItemTypes()
.Select(t => (JsonConverter)Activator.CreateInstance(typeof(SingleOrResultListConverter<>).MakeGenericType(new [] { t })))
.ToArray();
var settings = new JsonSerializerSettings { Converters = converters };
return JToken.Parse(json).SelectToken("d").ToObject<T>(JsonSerializer.CreateDefault(settings));
Using the extension method:
public static class TypeExtensions
{
/// <summary>
/// Return all interfaces implemented by the incoming type as well as the type itself if it is an interface.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="type"></param>
/// <returns></returns>
public static IEnumerable<Type> GetInterfacesAndSelf(this Type type)
{
if (type == null)
throw new ArgumentNullException();
if (type.IsInterface)
return new[] { type }.Concat(type.GetInterfaces());
else
return type.GetInterfaces();
}
public static IEnumerable<Type> GetCollectionItemTypes(this Type type)
{
foreach (Type intType in type.GetInterfacesAndSelf())
{
if (intType.IsGenericType
&& intType.GetGenericTypeDefinition() == typeof(ICollection<>))
{
yield return intType.GetGenericArguments()[0];
}
}
}
}

How to deserialize objects with key property synchronization into an existing collection?

I'm trying to use Json.NET to deserialize JSON data into an existing hierarchy using JsonConvert.PopulateObject. Everything is fine except for child collections.
I would like to synchronize the target collection items with the deserialized ones, so that target items would be updated with source objects with matching keys, non-existing target objects would be added, and non-existing source objects would be removed.
How and where could I customize the deserialization logic to achieve this behavior?

Building on the answer to Json.Net PopulateObject - update list elements based on ID, here's a pair of converters that will synchronize an existing list with a list deserialized from JSON, adding, removing or populating list items based on a key property:
[AttributeUsage(AttributeTargets.Field | AttributeTargets.Property, AllowMultiple = false)]
public class JsonMergeKeyAttribute : System.Attribute
{
}
public abstract class KeyedListSynchronizingConverterBase : JsonConverter
{
protected static bool CanConvert(IContractResolver contractResolver, Type objectType, out Type elementType, out JsonProperty keyProperty)
{
if (objectType.IsArray)
{
// Not implemented for arrays, since they cannot be resized.
elementType = null;
keyProperty = null;
return false;
}
var elementTypes = objectType.GetIListItemTypes().ToList();
if (elementTypes.Count != 1)
{
elementType = null;
keyProperty = null;
return false;
}
elementType = elementTypes[0];
var contract = contractResolver.ResolveContract(elementType) as JsonObjectContract;
if (contract == null)
{
keyProperty = null;
return false;
}
keyProperty = contract.Properties.Where(p => p.AttributeProvider.GetAttributes(typeof(JsonMergeKeyAttribute), true).Count > 0).SingleOrDefault();
return keyProperty != null;
}
public override object ReadJson(JsonReader reader, Type objectType, object existingValue, JsonSerializer serializer)
{
var contractResolver = serializer.ContractResolver;
Type elementType;
JsonProperty keyProperty;
if (!CanConvert(contractResolver, objectType, out elementType, out keyProperty))
throw new JsonSerializationException(string.Format("Invalid input type {0}", objectType));
if (elementType.IsValueType)
throw new NotImplementedException("Not implemented for value types");
if (reader.TokenType == JsonToken.Null)
return null;
var method = typeof(KeyedListSynchronizingConverterBase).GetMethod("ReadJsonGeneric", BindingFlags.NonPublic | BindingFlags.Instance | BindingFlags.Public);
var genericMethod = method.MakeGenericMethod(new[] { elementType });
try
{
return genericMethod.Invoke(this, new object[] { reader, objectType, existingValue, serializer, keyProperty });
}
catch (TargetInvocationException ex)
{
// Wrap the TargetInvocationException in a JsonSerializationException
throw new JsonSerializationException("ReadJsonGeneric<T> error", ex);
}
}
object ReadJsonGeneric<T>(JsonReader reader, Type objectType, object existingValue, JsonSerializer serializer, JsonProperty keyProperty) where T : class
{
var list = existingValue as IList<T>;
if (list == null || list.Count == 0)
{
var contractResolver = serializer.ContractResolver;
list = list ?? (IList<T>)contractResolver.ResolveContract(objectType).DefaultCreator();
serializer.Populate(reader, list);
}
else
{
var jArray = JArray.Load(reader);
var lookup = Enumerable.Range(0, list.Count)
.Where(i => list[i] != null)
.ToLookup(i => keyProperty.ValueProvider.GetValue(list[i]), i => KeyValuePair.Create(i, list[i]), EqualityComparer<object>.Default);
var done = new HashSet<int>(); // In case there are duplicate keys, pair them in order.
for (int i = 0, count = jArray.Count; i < count; i++)
{
T item;
if (jArray[i].Type == JTokenType.Null)
item = null;
else
{
var key = jArray[i][keyProperty.PropertyName].ToObject(keyProperty.PropertyType, serializer);
var pair = lookup[key].Where(p => !done.Contains(p.Key)).FirstOrDefault();
item = pair.Value;
if (item == null)
{
item = jArray[i].ToObject<T>(serializer);
}
else
{
using (var subReader = jArray[i].CreateReader())
serializer.Populate(subReader, item);
}
done.Add(pair.Key);
}
if (i < list.Count)
list[i] = item;
else
list.Add(item);
}
while (list.Count > jArray.Count)
list.RemoveAt(list.Count - 1);
}
return list;
}
public override bool CanWrite { get { return false; } }
public override void WriteJson(JsonWriter writer, object value, JsonSerializer serializer)
{
throw new NotImplementedException();
}
}
public class KeyedListSynchronizingConverter : KeyedListSynchronizingConverterBase
{
readonly IContractResolver contractResolver;
public KeyedListSynchronizingConverter(IContractResolver contractResolver)
{
if (contractResolver == null)
throw new ArgumentNullException("contractResolver");
this.contractResolver = contractResolver;
}
public override bool CanConvert(Type objectType)
{
Type elementType;
JsonProperty keyProperty;
return CanConvert(contractResolver, objectType, out elementType, out keyProperty);
}
public override object ReadJson(JsonReader reader, Type objectType, object existingValue, JsonSerializer serializer)
{
if (contractResolver != serializer.ContractResolver)
throw new InvalidOperationException("Inconsistent contract resolvers");
return base.ReadJson(reader, objectType, existingValue, serializer);
}
}
public class KeyedListPropertySynchronizingConverter : KeyedListSynchronizingConverterBase
{
public override bool CanConvert(Type objectType)
{
throw new NotImplementedException("This converter is intended to be applied to a specific property, rather than globally");
}
}
Then apply the key attribute to your collection items as follows, to indicate the key to use for merging:
public class Item
{
[JsonMergeKey]
public Guid Id { get; set; }
public string Value { get; set; }
}
Then it can be used as follows globally:
var contractResolver = JsonSerializer.CreateDefault().ContractResolver;
var settings = new JsonSerializerSettings { ContractResolver = contractResolver, Converters = new [] { new KeyedListSynchronizingConverter(contractResolver) } };
JsonConvert.PopulateObject(newJson, rootObject, settings);
(Note that the root object should not be the IList<T> to be synchronized, since Json.NET doesn't call a converter for the root object when doing a Populate().)
Alternatively, you can apply it to a specific IList<T> property as follows:
public class RootObject
{
[JsonConverter(typeof(KeyedListPropertySynchronizingConverter))]
public ObservableCollection<Item> Items { get; set; } // Can be any type of collection implementing IList<T>
}

Strategies for migrating serialized Json.NET document between versions/formats

I'm using Json.Net to serialize some application data. Of course, the application specs have slightly changed and we need to refactor some of the business object data. What are some viable strategies to migrate previously serialized data to our new data format?
For example, say we have orignally had a business object like:
public class Owner
{
public string Name {get;set;}
}
public class LeaseInstrument
{
public ObservableCollection<Owner> OriginalLessees {get;set;}
}
We serialize an instance of a LeaseInstrument to a file with Json.Net. Now, we change our business objects to look like:
public class Owner
{
public string Name {get;set;}
}
public class LeaseOwner
{
public Owner Owner { get;set;}
public string DocumentName {get;set;}
}
public class LeaseInstrument
{
public ObservableCollection<LeaseOwner> OriginalLessees {get;set;}
}
I have looked into writing a custom JsonConverter for LeaseInstrument, but the ReadJson method is not ever hit...instead an exception is thrown before the deserializer reaches that point:
Additional information: Type specified in JSON
'System.Collections.ObjectModel.ObservableCollection`1[[BreakoutLib.BO.Owner,
BreakoutLib, Version=1.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null]],
System, Version=4.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b77a5c561934e089'
is not compatible with 'System.Collections.ObjectModel.ObservableCollection`1[[BreakoutLib.BO.LeaseOwner, BreakoutLib, Version=1.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null]], System, Version=4.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b77a5c561934e089'. Path 'Is.$values[8].OriginalLessors.$type', line 3142, position 120.
I mean, no joke, Json.Net, that's why I'm trying to run a JsonConverter when deserializing these objects, so I can manually handle the fact that the serialized type doesn't match the compiled type!!
For what it's worth, here are the JsonSerializerSettings we are using:
var settings = new JsonSerializerSettings
{
PreserveReferencesHandling = PreserveReferencesHandling.Objects,
ContractResolver = new WritablePropertiesOnlyResolver(),
TypeNameHandling = TypeNameHandling.All,
ObjectCreationHandling = ObjectCreationHandling.Reuse
};

You have the following issues:
You serialized using TypeNameHandling.All. This setting serializes type information for collections as well as objects. I don't recommend doing this. Instead I suggest using TypeNameHandling.Objects and then letting the deserializing system choose the collection type.
That being said, to deal with your existing JSON, you can adapt the IgnoreArrayTypeConverter from make Json.NET ignore $type if it's incompatible to use with a resizable collection:
public class IgnoreCollectionTypeConverter : JsonConverter
{
public IgnoreCollectionTypeConverter() { }
public IgnoreCollectionTypeConverter(Type ItemConverterType)
{
this.ItemConverterType = ItemConverterType;
}
public Type ItemConverterType { get; set; }
public override bool CanConvert(Type objectType)
{
// TODO: test with read-only collections.
return objectType.GetCollectItemTypes().Count() == 1 && !objectType.IsDictionary() && !objectType.IsArray;
}
public override object ReadJson(JsonReader reader, Type objectType, object existingValue, JsonSerializer serializer)
{
if (!CanConvert(objectType))
throw new JsonSerializationException(string.Format("Invalid type \"{0}\"", objectType));
if (reader.TokenType == JsonToken.Null)
return null;
var token = JToken.Load(reader);
var itemConverter = (ItemConverterType == null ? null : (JsonConverter)Activator.CreateInstance(ItemConverterType, true));
if (itemConverter != null)
serializer.Converters.Add(itemConverter);
try
{
return ToCollection(token, objectType, existingValue, serializer);
}
finally
{
if (itemConverter != null)
serializer.Converters.RemoveLast(itemConverter);
}
}
private static object ToCollection(JToken token, Type collectionType, object existingValue, JsonSerializer serializer)
{
if (token == null || token.Type == JTokenType.Null)
return null;
else if (token.Type == JTokenType.Array)
{
// Here we assume that existingValue already is of the correct type, if non-null.
existingValue = serializer.DefaultCreate<object>(collectionType, existingValue);
token.PopulateObject(existingValue, serializer);
return existingValue;
}
else if (token.Type == JTokenType.Object)
{
var values = token["$values"];
if (values == null)
return null;
return ToCollection(values, collectionType, existingValue, serializer);
}
else
{
throw new JsonSerializationException("Unknown token type: " + token.ToString());
}
}
public override bool CanWrite { get { return false; } }
public override void WriteJson(JsonWriter writer, object value, JsonSerializer serializer)
{
throw new NotImplementedException();
}
}
You need to upgrade your Owner to a LeaseOwner.
You can write a JsonConverter for this purpose that loads the relevant portion of JSON into a JObject, then checks to see whether the object looks like one from the old data model, or the new. If the JSON looks old, map fields as necessary using Linq to JSON. If the JSON object looks new, you can just populate your LeaseOwner with it.
Since you are setting PreserveReferencesHandling = PreserveReferencesHandling.Objects the converter will need to handle the "$ref" properties manually:
public class OwnerToLeaseOwnerConverter : JsonConverter
{
public override bool CanConvert(Type objectType)
{
return typeof(LeaseOwner).IsAssignableFrom(objectType);
}
public override object ReadJson(JsonReader reader, Type objectType, object existingValue, JsonSerializer serializer)
{
if (reader.TokenType == JsonToken.Null)
return null;
var item = JObject.Load(reader);
if (item["$ref"] != null)
{
var previous = serializer.ReferenceResolver.ResolveReference(serializer, (string)item["$ref"]);
if (previous is LeaseOwner)
return previous;
else if (previous is Owner)
{
var leaseOwner = serializer.DefaultCreate<LeaseOwner>(objectType, existingValue);
leaseOwner.Owner = (Owner)previous;
return leaseOwner;
}
else
{
throw new JsonSerializationException("Invalid type of previous object: " + previous);
}
}
else
{
var leaseOwner = serializer.DefaultCreate<LeaseOwner>(objectType, existingValue);
if (item["Name"] != null)
{
// Convert from Owner to LeaseOwner. If $id is present, this stores the reference mapping in the reference table for us.
leaseOwner.Owner = item.ToObject<Owner>(serializer);
}
else
{
// PopulateObject. If $id is present, this stores the reference mapping in the reference table for us.
item.PopulateObject(leaseOwner, serializer);
}
return leaseOwner;
}
}
public override bool CanWrite { get { return false; } }
public override void WriteJson(JsonWriter writer, object value, JsonSerializer serializer)
{
throw new NotImplementedException();
}
}
These use the extensions:
public static class JsonExtensions
{
public static T DefaultCreate<T>(this JsonSerializer serializer, Type objectType, object existingValue)
{
if (serializer == null)
throw new ArgumentNullException();
if (existingValue is T)
return (T)existingValue;
return (T)serializer.ContractResolver.ResolveContract(objectType).DefaultCreator();
}
public static void PopulateObject(this JToken obj, object target, JsonSerializer serializer)
{
if (target == null)
throw new NullReferenceException();
if (obj == null)
return;
using (var reader = obj.CreateReader())
serializer.Populate(reader, target);
}
}
public static class TypeExtensions
{
/// <summary>
/// Return all interfaces implemented by the incoming type as well as the type itself if it is an interface.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="type"></param>
/// <returns></returns>
public static IEnumerable<Type> GetInterfacesAndSelf(this Type type)
{
if (type == null)
throw new ArgumentNullException();
if (type.IsInterface)
return new[] { type }.Concat(type.GetInterfaces());
else
return type.GetInterfaces();
}
public static IEnumerable<Type> GetCollectItemTypes(this Type type)
{
foreach (Type intType in type.GetInterfacesAndSelf())
{
if (intType.IsGenericType
&& intType.GetGenericTypeDefinition() == typeof(ICollection<>))
{
yield return intType.GetGenericArguments()[0];
}
}
}
public static bool IsDictionary(this Type type)
{
if (typeof(IDictionary).IsAssignableFrom(type))
return true;
foreach (Type intType in type.GetInterfacesAndSelf())
{
if (intType.IsGenericType
&& intType.GetGenericTypeDefinition() == typeof(IDictionary<,>))
{
return true;
}
}
return false;
}
}
public static class ListExtensions
{
public static bool RemoveLast<T>(this IList<T> list, T item)
{
if (list == null)
throw new ArgumentNullException();
var comparer = EqualityComparer<T>.Default;
for (int i = list.Count - 1; i >= 0; i--)
{
if (comparer.Equals(list[i], item))
{
list.RemoveAt(i);
return true;
}
}
return false;
}
}
You can apply the converters directly to your data model using JsonConverterAttribute, like so:
public class LeaseInstrument
{
[JsonConverter(typeof(IgnoreCollectionTypeConverter), typeof(OwnerToLeaseOwnerConverter))]
public ObservableCollection<LeaseOwner> OriginalLessees { get; set; }
}
If you don't want to have a dependency on Json.NET in your data model, you can do this in your custom contract resolver:
public class WritablePropertiesOnlyResolver : DefaultContractResolver
{
protected override JsonProperty CreateProperty(MemberInfo member, MemberSerialization memberSerialization)
{
var result = base.CreateProperty(member, memberSerialization);
if (typeof(LeaseInstrument).IsAssignableFrom(result.DeclaringType) && typeof(ICollection<LeaseOwner>).IsAssignableFrom(result.PropertyType))
{
var converter = new IgnoreCollectionTypeConverter { ItemConverterType = typeof(OwnerToLeaseOwnerConverter) };
result.Converter = result.Converter ?? converter;
result.MemberConverter = result.MemberConverter ?? converter;
}
return result;
}
}
Incidentally, you might want to cache your custom contract resolver for best performance.

You might find our library Migrations.Json.Net helpful
https://github.com/Weingartner/Migrations.Json.Net
A Simple example. Say you start with a class
public class Person {
public string Name {get;set}
}
and then you want to migrate to
public class Person {
public string FirstName {get;set}
public string SecondName {get;set}
public string Name => $"{FirstName} {SecondName}";
}
you would perhaps do the following migration
public class Person {
public string FirstName {get;set}
public string SecondName {get;set}
public string Name => $"{FirstName} {SecondName}";
public void migrate_1(JToken token, JsonSerializer s){
var name = token["Name"];
var names = names.Split(" ");
token["FirstName"] = names[0];
token["SecondName"] = names[1];
return token;
}
}
The above glosses over some details but there is a full example on the homepage of the project. We use this extensively in two of our production projects. The example on the homepage has 13 migrations to a complex object that has changed over several years.