Develop Reference

Is there a way to deserialize only a single JSON field [duplicate]

So I have a JSON string where I just want to read a specific value. How do I just pick "Read me please!" from string below?
var readString = /*Read me please!*/
JSON string:
"{\"aString\":\"Read me please!\"}"
For better understanding, how do I do the same here? (just "Read me please!"):
"{\"Result\":
{
\"aString\":\"Read me please!\",
\"anotherString\":\"Dont read me!\"
}
}"
If both alternative have different solution I would like to know both.
PS: I do not wish to save the value into object/class or so. Just temporary inside var readString.

You could write a model:
public class MyModel
{
public string AString { get; set; }
}
and then use a JSON serializer such as Json.NET:
string readString = "{\"aString\":\"Read me please!\"}";
MyModel model = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<MyModel>(readString);
Console.WriteLine(model.AString);
If you don't want to use third party solutions you could use the built-in JavaScriptSerializer class:
string readString = "{\"aString\":\"Read me please!\"}";
MyModel model = new JavaScriptSerializer().Deserialize<MyModel>(readString);
Console.WriteLine(model.AString);
Now assuming you want to handle your second JSON string you could simply adapt your model:
public class Wrapper
{
public MyModel Result { get; set; }
}
public class MyModel
{
public string AString { get; set; }
public string AnotherString { get; set; }
}
and then deserialize to this wrapper class:
string readString = ... the JSON string in your second example ...;
Wrapper wrapper = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<Wrapper>(readString);
Console.WriteLine(wrapper.Result.AString);
Console.WriteLine(wrapper.Result.AnotherString);
UPDATE:
And if you don't want to deserialize to a model you could directly do this:
string readString = "{\"aString\":\"Read me please!\"}";
var res = (JObject)JsonConvert.DeserializeObject(readString);
Console.WriteLine(res.Value<string>("aString"));
or with the built-in JavaScriptSerializer class:
string readString = "{\"aString\":\"Read me please!\"}";
var serializer = new JavaScriptSerializer();
var res = (IDictionary<string, object>)serializer.DeserializeObject(readString);
Console.WriteLine(res["aString"]);

var readString = JObject.Parse(str)["aString"];
Or for your second example:
var readString2 = JObject.Parse(str2)["Result"]["aString"];

Json.NET also provides a JSON reader if you don't want to deserialize the whole thing. For example:
string json = "{\"Result\": { \"aString\":\"Read me please!\", \"anotherString\":\"Dont read me!\" } }";
using (var reader = new JsonTextReader(new StringReader(json)))
{
while (reader.Read())
{
if (reader.TokenType == JsonToken.PropertyName && (string)reader.Value == "aString")
{
reader.Read();
Console.Write(reader.Value);
break;
}
}
}
Console.ReadKey();

You have to use Newtonsoft (JSON.NET) to accomplish that. Then, you can access your json property this way:
var obj = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject(yourJson);
Console.WriteLine(obj.Result.aString);

I played around with writing a generic method that can read any part of my json string. I tried a lot of the answers on this thread and it did not suit my need. So this is what I came up with. I use the following method in my service layer to read my configuration properties from the json string.
public T getValue<T>(string json,string jsonPropertyName)
{
var parsedResult= JObject.Parse(json);
return parsedResult.SelectToken(jsonPropertyName).ToObject<T>();
}
and this is how you would use it :
var result = service.getValue<List<string>>(json, "propertyName");
So you can use this to get specific properties within your json string and cast it to whatever you need it to be.

Json arry and other properties deserialization (C#)

I have the following json that contains an unnamed array and other named properties. I'd like to know how to deserialize it to a class, using Newtonsoft.Json.
{
"message": "success",
[
{
"timestamp": 1509723862,
"tid": 84823616,
"price": "7344.7",
"amount": "0.36108123",
"exchange": "bitfinex",
"type": "sell"
},
{
...
}
]
}
I know I could deserialize the array using
serializer.DeserializeObject< List < Response > >(serializedObject), but as the json contains other properties, it is not a json-array string.
Is there any configuration that I could use to tell Newtonsoft.Json to deserialize the array into a List, and the 'message' property to a string, in the class bellow:
public class Response
{
public string Message {get;set;}
public List<ResponseItem> ResponseItems {get;set;}
}
public class ResponseItem {
string timestamp {get;set;}
(...)
}

A JSON can't have both an unnamed array and a named value on the same level. The JSON is invalid. Either everything is keyed, or it's an unkeyed array. Can't have both.

I think it's not a good idea to concate the two Json's.
Use your own Deserializer and pass your two Json's:
public static class ResponseDeserializer
{
public static Response Deserialize(string psMessage, string psResponeItems)
{
dynamic loMessage = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject(psMessage);
return new Response()
{
Message = loMessage.message,
ResponseItems = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<List<ResponseItem>>(psResponeItems)
};
}
}
And use it:
string lsMessage = "{\"message\":\"Unknown symbol\"}";
string lsResponseItems = "[{\"timestamp\":1509726632,\"tid\":84840931,\"price\":\"7298.8\",\"amount\":\"0.0044733\",\"exchange\":\"bitfinex\",\"type\":\"sell\"},{\"timestamp\":1509726630,\"tid\":84840921,\"price\":\"7297.3\",\"amount\":\"0.11550649\",\"exchange\":\"bitfinex\",\"type\":\"sell\"},{\"timestamp\":1509726630,\"tid\":84840911,\"price\":\"7297.2\",\"amount\":\"0.0214149\",\"exchange\":\"bitfinex\",\"type\":\"buy\"},{\"timestamp\":1509726629,\"tid\":84840909,\"price\":\"7297.2\",\"amount\":\"0.41004892\",\"exchange\":\"bitfinex\",\"type\":\"buy\"}]";
var loResponse = ResponseDeserializer.Deserialize(lsMessage, lsResponseItems);
Console.WriteLine(loResponse.Message);

C# deserialize JSON using JavaScriptSerializer.DeserializeObject

I am not a C# programmer, but rather playing with the language from time to time. I wonder, if I have a JSON string which I want to deserialize using JavaScriptSerializer.DeserializeObject, how could I do that. For instance, if I have a JSON:
{
"Name": "col_name2",
"Value": [
{
"From": 100,
"To": 200
},
{
"From": 100,
"To": 200
}
]
}
And I have that JSON string in a variable called sJson:
using System.Web.Script.Serialization;
...
JavaScriptSerializer jss = new JavaScriptSerializer();
Object json = jss.DeserializeObject(sJson);
and now how do I use this Object json variable?
Note: I already know how to do it using System.Web.Script.Serialization.Deserialize<T> method.

Look at this post for Davids Answer:
Deserialize json object into dynamic object using Json.net
You can put it into a dynamic (underlying type is JObject)
Then you can than access the information like this:
JavaScriptSerializer jss = new JavaScriptSerializer();
dynamic json = jss.DeserializeObject(sJson);
Console.WriteLine(json["Name"]); // use as Dictionary
I would prefer create a data transfer object (DTO) represent your JSON Structure as a c# class.

You could declare new custom classes for this specific case:
public class CustomClass
{
public string Name { get; set; }
public List<ValueClass> Value { get; set; }
}
public class ValueClass
{
public int From { get; set; }
public int To { get; set; }
}
Then deserialize directly to those classes (the deserializer will automatically map the correct properties):
JavaScriptSerializer jss = new JavaScriptSerializer();
CustomClass json = (CustomClass)jss.Deserialize(sJson, typeof(CustomClass));
Moreover if you have more than 1 items, this is easy as well:
List<CustomClass> json = (List<CustomClass>)jss.Deserialize(sJson, typeof(List<CustomClass>));

Best approach in C# to deserialize json object that can be array or single object [duplicate]

This question already has answers here:
How to handle both a single item and an array for the same property using JSON.net
(9 answers)
Closed 4 years ago.
We're dealing with an json API result. Just to make our lives difficult the provider of the API returns on of the items as an array if there are multiple objects, or as a single object if there is only one.
e.g.
If there is only one object...
{
propertyA: {
first: "A",
second: "B"
}
}
Or if there are multiple:
{
propertyA: [
{
first: "A",
second: "B"
},
{
first: "A",
second: "B"
}
]
}
Does anybody have a good way of dealing with this scenario?
Ideally we'd like to serialize both to
public class ApiResult{
public ApiItem[] PropertyA {get;set;}
}
This works for the second example but of you encounter the first example you get a A first chance exception of type 'System.MissingMethodException' occurred in System.Web.Extensions.dll
Additional information: No parameterless constructor defined for type of 'ApiItem[]'.

I assume the class definition is as below
public class ApiResult
{
public ApiItem[] PropertyA { get; set; }
}
public class ApiItem
{
public string First { get; set; }
public string Second { get; set; }
}
You can deserialize the json into a dynamic variable, then check the type of d.propertyA. If it's JArray then propertyA is an array, so you can deserialize the json into a ApiResult. If it's JObject then propertyA is a single object, so you need to manually construct ApiItem and assign it to PropertyA of ApiResult. Consider the method below
public ApiResult Deserialize(string json)
{
ApiResult result = new ApiResult();
dynamic d = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject(json);
if (d.propertyA.GetType() == typeof (Newtonsoft.Json.Linq.JObject))
{
// propertyA is a single object, construct ApiItem manually
ApiItem item = new ApiItem();
item.First = d.propertyA.first;
item.Second = d.propertyA.second;
// assign item to result.PropertyA[0]
result.PropertyA = new ApiItem[1];
result.PropertyA[0] = item;
}
else if (d.propertyA.GetType() == typeof (Newtonsoft.Json.Linq.JArray))
{
// propertyA is an array, deserialize json into ApiResult
result = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<ApiResult>(json);
}
return result;
}
The code above will return an instance of ApiResult for both json examples.
Working demo: https://dotnetfiddle.net/wBQKrp

Building upon ekad's answer, I made the code:
Shorter: as now you don't have map one by one every property inside ApiItem
Probably faster in the case of being already an Array (by not calling to both versions of JsonConvert.DeserializeObject with the same input of the json string)
Explicit about how to introduce other properties
Handling the error case of unknown type of our propertyA (the one that can be either an array or an object).
Notice that instead of JsonConvert.DeserializeObject, I call JObject.Parse, and then ToObject<> for only the part I need in that particular case:
static ApiResult Deserialize(string json)
{
JObject j = JObject.Parse(json);
var propA = j["propertyA"];
switch (propA.Type.ToString())
{
case "Object":
return new ApiResult {
PropertyA = new[]{propA.ToObject<ApiItem>()},
SomethingElse = j["somethingElse"].ToObject<string>(),
};
case "Array":
return j.ToObject<ApiResult>();
default:
throw new Exception("Invalid json with propertyA of type " + propA.Type.ToString());
}
}
The API is pretty much the same, but I've added SomethingElse (for showing how other properties can be easily handled with this approach):
public class ApiResult
{
public ApiItem[] PropertyA { get; set; }
public string SomethingElse { get; set; }
}
public class ApiItem
{
public string First { get; set; }
public string Second { get; set; }
}
Working demo: https://dotnetfiddle.net/VLbTMu

JSON# has a very lightweight tool that allows you to achieve this. It will retrieve embedded JSON, regardless of whether or not the embedded JSON is an object, or array, from within larger JSON objects:
const string schoolMetadata = #"{ "school": {...";
var jsonParser = new JsonObjectParser();
using (var stream =
new MemoryStream(Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(schoolMetadata))) {
Json.Parse(_jsonParser, stream, "teachers");
}
Here we retrieve a "teachers" object from within a larger "school" object.

best way to Serialize/Deserialize to/from JSON is Json.NET
Popular high-performance JSON framework for .NET
Product product = new Product();
product.Name = "Apple";
product.Expiry = new DateTime(2008, 12, 28);
product.Sizes = new string[] { "Small" };
string json = JsonConvert.SerializeObject(product);
//{
// "Name": "Apple",
// "Expiry": "2008-12-28T00:00:00",
// "Sizes": [
// "Small"
// ]
//}
string json = #"{
'Name': 'Bad Boys',
'ReleaseDate': '1995-4-7T00:00:00',
'Genres': [
'Action',
'Comedy'
]
}";
Movie m = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<Movie>(json);
string name = m.Name;
// Bad Boys

Separating array and element from a JSON string

I am connecting you Google Places API to retrive results in the form of a JSON string. You can view the complete format of the string Here.
If you a look at it you will see that the actual results array starts after two elements which are html_attributions and next_page_token.
So When i try to deserialize it in this way:
var serializer = new JavaScriptSerializer();
var arr= serializer.Deserialize(result,typeof(string[]));
I get an empty array.
My question is how is there a way i can separate html_attributions and next_page_token fields and the pass the valid results array from the string to be deserialized?

I don't understand the part where you wish to seperate the html_attributions and the next_page_token.
Wouldn't it be sufficient to just deserialize the response with whatever properties that you need?
For example, you can deserialize the response to only retrieve the values that you desire;
// I represent the wrapper result
class Result
{
public List<string> html_attributions { get; set; }
public string next_page_token { get; set; }
public List<ResultItem> results { get; set; }
}
// I represent a result item
class ResultItem
{
public string id { get; set; }
public string name { get; set; }
}
// the actual deserialization
Result Deserialize(string json)
{
var serializer = new JavaScriptSerializer();
return serializer.Deserialize(json, typeof(Result));
}
Edit:
The reason that your deserialization doesn't return you a array of strings is because the response that you retrieve is infact an object and not an array, however the parameter within that object which is named results is an array. In order for you to deserialize more properties you'll have to define them in your "ResultItem" class, sorry for my poor naming here.
For instance, if you'd wish to also retrieve the icon property per result you'll have to add a property named "icon" of type string.
Meanwhile the property "photos" is an array, in order to deserialize it you'll have to create another class and add a property of type list/array of that newly created class, and it has to be named "photos" unless you use a different serializer or use DataContract and DataMember attributes (using the Name property for field mapping).
// the representation of a photo within a result item
class Photo
{
public int height { get; set; }
public List<string> html_attributions { get; set; }
public string photo_reference { get; set; }
public int width { get; set; }
}
// I represent a result item
class ResultItem
{
public string id { get; set; }
public string name { get; set; }
// the added icon
public string icon { get; set; }
// the added photos collection, could also be an array
public List<Photo> photos { get; set; }
}
Just look at the JSON result to figure out what other properties that you might want to add, for instance the "scope" property is an string whilst the "price_level" is an integer.
If I understand your comment correctly you're only interested in the actual results, you'll still have to deserialize the response correctly with its wrapper.
// the actual deserialization
List<ResultItem> Deserialize(string json)
{
var serializer = new JavaScriptSerializer();
var result = serializer.Deserialize(json, typeof(Result));
return result.results;
}
Edit2:
If you really want a string[] as a result you could simply take use of System.Linq using the code above.
string[] stringArray = result.results.Select(r => string.Format("id:{0} - name:{1}", r.id, r.name)).ToArray();
Edit3:
Instead of using the JavascriptSerializer you could use JObject functionality which can be found in the Newtonsoft.Json.Linq library.
var jsonObject = JObject.Parse(json);
string[] results = jsonObject.SelectTokens("results").Select(r => r.ToString()).ToArray();
This will give you an array of strings where each value within the array is the actual json string for each result.
If you however would like to query for the coordinates only:
var jsonObject = JObject.Parse(json);
var coordinates = jsonObject["results"]
.Select(x => x.SelectToken("geometry").SelectToken("location"))
.Select(x => string.Format("{0},{1}", (string)x.SelectToken("lat"), (string)x.SelectToken("lng")))
.ToArray();
This would give you an array of coordinates, eg:
[
"-33.867217,151.195939",
"-33.866786,151.195633",
...
]
Whatever approach you choose you'll be able to accomplish same results using either Newtonsoft or the .net serializer, whilst the Newtonsoft approach would allow you to query without creating strong types for deserialization.

I don't find the point of "[...] pass the valid results array from the string to be deserialized".
Maybe you need to switch to JSON.NET and do something like this:
// You simply deserialize the entire response to an ExpandoObject
// so you don't need a concrete type to deserialize the whole response...
dynamic responseEntity = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<ExpandoObject>(
googlePlacesJson, new ExpandoObjectConverter()
);
// Now you can access result array as an `IEnumerable<dynamic>`...
IEnumerable<dynamic> results = responseEntity.results;
foreach(dynamic result in results)
{
// Do stuff for each result in the whole response...
}