Develop Reference

How to Deserialize Json Array

I have a Json Response to deserialize, after doing the deserialize I get error.
This is the Json array I want to deserialize:
{
"status": 200,
"success": true,
"message": "Success",
"data": [
{
"transaction_reference": "REF202301031128311645_1",
"virtual_account_number": "1234567890",
"principal_amount": "200.00",
"settled_amount": "199.80",
"fee_charged": "0.20",
"transaction_date": "2023-01-03T00:00:00.000Z",
"transaction_indicator": "C",
"remarks": "Transfer FROM Transfer | [1234567] TO Merchant Name",
"currency": "NGN",
"alerted_merchant": false,
"merchant_settlement_date": "2023-01-03T10:29:25.847Z",
"frozen_transaction": null,
"customer": {
"customer_identifier": "1234567"
}
}
]
}
From the Array, I want to get the following as variable:
status,
transaction_reference,
Virtual_account_number,
principal_amount,
customer_identifier,
below is what I tried:
string data = response.Content;
string dataT = data.Replace("", string.Empty);
dynamic stuff = JObject.Parse(dataT);
dynamic status = stuff.status;
var JsonResponse = stuff.data;
var ResponseX = JsonNode.Parse(JsonResponse); // Deserializing json Array
dynamic transaction_reference = ResponseX[0]["transaction_reference"];
dynamic virtual_account_number = ResponseX[1]["virtual_account_number"];
dynamic principal_amount = ResponseX[2]["principal_amount"];
dynamic customer = ResponseX[13]["customer_identifier"];
dynamic customer_identifier = customer.customer_identifier;
The error I got is as below
Microsoft.CSharp.RuntimeBinder.RuntimeBinderException
HResult=0x80131500 Message=The best overloaded method match for
'System.Text.Json.Nodes.JsonNode.Parse(ref
System.Text.Json.Utf8JsonReader,
System.Text.Json.Nodes.JsonNodeOptions?)' has some invalid arguments
Source= StackTrace:
The error occurred at the line
var ResponseX = JsonNode.Parse(JsonResponse); // Deserializing json Array
What I really want achieve is to separate the following and get each as variable:
status,
transaction_reference,
Virtual_account_number,
principal_amount,
customer_identifier,
Please can someone point to me where my error is?

you have too much code that you don't need, if you don't want to deserialize to c# class, you can do it this way too
var ResponseX = JsonNode.Parse(response.Content); // Parse the response string
int status= (int)ResponseX["status"];
var data=ResponseX["data"][0];
string transaction_reference = (string) data["transaction_reference"];
string virtual_account_number = (string) data["virtual_account_number"];
string principal_amount = (string) data["principal_amount"];
string customer = (string) data["customer_identifier"];
int customer_identifier = Convert.ToInt32 ((string) data["customer"]["customer_identifier"]);
another way is to deserialize data to c# class
Datum d = System.Text.Json.JsonSerializer.Deserialize<Datum>(data.AsObject());
string transaction_reference = d.transaction_reference;
string virtual_account_number = d.virtual_account_number;
int customer_identifier = Convert.ToInt32( d.customer.customer_identifier);
public class Datum
{
public string transaction_reference { get; set; }
public string virtual_account_number { get; set; }
public string principal_amount { get; set; }
public string settled_amount { get; set; }
public string fee_charged { get; set; }
public DateTime transaction_date { get; set; }
public string transaction_indicator { get; set; }
public string remarks { get; set; }
public string currency { get; set; }
public bool alerted_merchant { get; set; }
public DateTime merchant_settlement_date { get; set; }
public object frozen_transaction { get; set; }
public Customer customer { get; set; }
}
public class Customer
{
public string customer_identifier { get; set; }
}

It would be nice to know what the specific error is but from inspecting the JSON it looks like you are stepping into the wrong parent node.
Try
dynamic transaction_reference = ResponseX["data"][0]["transaction_reference"];
dynamic virtual_account_number = ResponseX["data"][1]["virtual_account_number"];
dynamic principal_amount = ResponseX["data"][2]["principal_amount"];
dynamic customer = ResponseX["data"][13]["customer_identifier"];
dynamic customer_identifier = customer.customer_identifier;
Also, make sure the array has at least 14 entries under the parent data.

You are passing an invalid into JsonNode.Parse().
The error is thrown at runtime because you use dynamic as type and the compiler does not know the type at compile time.
In line dynamic stuff = JObject.Parse(dataT); you are using Newtonsoft to parse the data.
In Line var JsonResponse = stuff.data; you are writing a variable of type Newtonsoft.Json.Linq.JArray.
Then you try to call JsonNode.Parse(JsonResponse); which is not possible with the given argument, because the type of JsonResponse is not valid.
You will get this error on compile time, when you use the "real" types instead of dynamic.
To fix your issue, you should use the same function for parsing.

Get multiples Arrays from dictionary Object

I have a JSON call, this brings me an object with four Arrays.
HttpWebRequest apiRequest = WebRequest.Create(url) as HttpWebRequest;
string apiResponse = "";
using (HttpWebResponse response = apiRequest.GetResponse() as HttpWebResponse)
{
StreamReader reader = new StreamReader(response.GetResponseStream());
apiResponse = reader.ReadToEnd();
}
var dict = new JavaScriptSerializer().Deserialize<Dictionary<string, object>>(apiResponse);
var results = dict["results"];
Then i use var dict to storage this four arrays, later i have var results to select an specific array. In this case, the array i want is "results".
var results "output":
The problem is i want access the data for each array, but i don't know how do this.
ArrayList list = (ArrayList)results;
StringBuilder builder = new StringBuilder();
for (int i = 0; i < list.Count; i++)
{
if (builder.Length > 0)
{
builder.Append(", ");
}
object current = list[i];
builder.Append(current);
}
LblTitle.Text = builder.ToString();
I see this code in other post and i adapt to my code, but this only brings me this System.Collections.Generic.Dictionary'2[System.String,System.Object], for each array.
I want something like this
string[] arrayresult = builder.ToString();
string[] arrayresult2 = builder.ToString();
etc, for each array in the object results. And later access each array data like this LblTitle.Text = arrayresult[1]; LblTitle2.Text = arrayresult2[1];
Edit: Adding JSON Example
"{\"page\":1,\"results\":[{\"adult\":false,\"backdrop_path\":\"/7ABsaBkO1jA2psC8Hy4IDhkID4h.jpg\",\"genre_ids\":[28,12,14,878],\"id\":19995,\"original_language\":\"en\",\"original_title\":\"Avatar\",\"overview\":\"In the 22nd century, a paraplegic Marine is dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission, but becomes torn between following orders and protecting an alien civilization.\",\"popularity\":1363.938,\"poster_path\":\"/jRXYjXNq0Cs2TcJjLkki24MLp7u.jpg\",\"release_date\":\"2009-12-10\",\"title\":\"Avatar\",\"video\":false,\"vote_average\":7.5,\"vote_count\":26216},{\"adult\":false,\"backdrop_path\":\"/198vrF8k7mfQ4FjDJsBmdQcaiyq.jpg\",\"genre_ids\":[878,28,12],\"id\":76600,\"original_language\":\"en\",\"original_title\":\"Avatar: The Way of Water\",\"overview\":\"Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, learn the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure.\",\"popularity\":1000.602,\"poster_path\":\"/1yppMeTNQwDrzaUH4dRCx4mr8We.jpg\",\"release_date\":\"2022-12-14\",\"title\":\"Avatar: The Way of Water\",\"video\":false,\"vote_average\":0,\"vote_count\":0},{\"adult\":false,\"backdrop_path\":null,\"genre_ids\":[99],\"id\":287003,\"original_language\":\"en\",\"original_title\":\"Avatar: Scene Deconstruction\",\"overview\":\"The deconstruction of the Avatar scenes and sets\",\"popularity\":261.979,\"poster_path\":\"/uCreCQFReeF0RiIXkQypRYHwikx.jpg\",\"release_date\":\"2009-12-18\",\"title\":\"Avatar: Scene Deconstruction\",\"video\":false,\"vote_average\":9,\"vote_count\":3},{\"adult\":false,\"backdrop_path\":null,\"genre_ids\":[99],\"id\":111332,\"original_language\":\"en\",\"original_title\":\"Avatar: Creating the World of Pandora\",\"overview\":\"The Making-of James Cameron's Avatar. It shows interesting parts of the work on the set.\",\"popularity\":259.613,\"poster_path\":\"/d9oqcfeCyc3zmMal6eJbfj3gatc.jpg\",\"release_date\":\"2010-02-07\",\"title\":\"Avatar: Creating the World of Pandora\",\"video\":false,\"vote_average\":7,\"vote_count\":20}],\"total_pages\":3,\"total_results\":55}"
I convert this JSON to Class, thanks for the tip. This is my class now:
public class Result
{
public bool adult { get; set; }
public string backdrop_path { get; set; }
public List<int> genre_ids { get; set; }
public int id { get; set; }
public string original_language { get; set; }
public string original_title { get; set; }
public string overview { get; set; }
public double popularity { get; set; }
public string poster_path { get; set; }
public string release_date { get; set; }
public string title { get; set; }
public bool video { get; set; }
public double vote_average { get; set; }
public int vote_count { get; set; }
}
public class Root
{
public int page { get; set; }
public List<Result> results { get; set; }
public int total_pages { get; set; }
public int total_results { get; set; }
}

I would suggest you create a proper C# class to deserialize your JSON into. We can't see how you JSON looks, so I'll just give a simple example. Let's say this is your JSON:
{
"results": [
[
"foo",
"bar"
],
[
"baz",
"qux"
]
],
"someOtherField": "someValue"
}
If you go to https://json2csharp.com/ you can convert this into a C# class like this:
public class Root
{
public List<List<string>> results { get; set; }
public string someOtherField { get; set; }
}
To deserialize and access the data, you simply do the following (I'm using System.Text.Json instead of JavaScriptSerializer - see comment below):
var root = JsonSerializer.Deserialize<Root>(apiResponse);
// ...
List<string> listResult = root.results[0];
List<string> listResult2 = root.results[1];
// ...
LblTitle.Text = listResult[1]; // "bar"
LblTitle2.Text = listResult2[1]; // "qux"
Please refer to the definition of JavaScriptSerializer:
For .NET Framework 4.7.2 and later versions, use the APIs in the System.Text.Json namespace for serialization and deserialization. For earlier versions of .NET Framework, use Newtonsoft.Json.
See here for how to use System.Text.Json .
If you want to use Newtonsoft.Json instead, you should replace JsonSerializer.Deserialize with JsonConvert.DeserializeObject:
var root = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<Root>(apiResponse);

Unable to use JSON data with Newtonsoft.Json in WPF

I am retrieving data from office365 api. The response is in JSON format. I want to get data like Id, DisplayName etc. into variables but not getting the right way to do it. Following this link. I'm new to API and JSON. Will Appreciate pointers as well towards best learning links.Sample JSON below for listing sub folders of Inbox folder.
Response JSON data.
{"#odata.context":"https://outlook.office365.com/api/v1.0/$metadata#Me/Folders('Inbox')/ChildFolders","value":
[
{"#odata.id":"https://outlook.office365.com/api/v1.0/Users('sample.user#demosite.com')/Folders('AAMkADBjMGZiZGFlLTE4ZmEtNGRlOS1iMjllLTJmsdfsdfdDSFSDFDFDF=')",
"Id":"AAMkADBjMdfgdfgDFGDFGDFGdfGDFGDFGDFGGDzrACAAB4xqMmAAA=",
"DisplayName":"SampleFolder","ParentFolderId":"AAMkADBjMGZiZGFlLTE4ZmEtNGRlOS1sdsDFSDFSDFSDFSDFSDFDFDFrACAAAAAAEMAAA=","ChildFolderCount":0,"UnreadItemCount":8,"TotalItemCount":94},
{"#odata.id":"https://outlook.office365.com/api/v1.0/Users('sample.user#demosite.com')/Folders('AAMkADBjMGZiZGFlLTE4ZmEasdasdasdASDASDASDASDSADDASDASDAB4xqMnAAA=')",
"Id":"AAMkADBjMGZiZGFlLTE4ZmEtNGRlOS1iMjllLTJmOGZkNGRhZmIzNQAuAasdASDASDASDASEDASDASDxSEHjzrACAAB4xqMnAAA=",
"DisplayName":"AnotherSampleFolder","ParentFolderId":"AAMkADBjMGZiZGFlLTE4ZmEtNGRlOS1sdsDFSDFSDFSDFSDFSDFDFDFrACAAAAAAEMAAA=","ChildFolderCount":0,"UnreadItemCount":21,"TotalItemCount":75}
]
}
The C# code using to parse JSON and find the required data.
HttpResponseMessage response = httpClient.SendAsync(request).Result;
if (!response.IsSuccessStatusCode)
throw new WebException(response.StatusCode.ToString() + ": " + response.ReasonPhrase);
string content = response.Content.ReadAsStringAsync().Result;
JObject jResult = JObject.Parse(content);
if (jResult["odata.error"] != null)
throw new Exception((string)jResult["odata.error"]["message"]["value"]);
//Attempt one - using dynamic [NOT WORKING - getting NULL values in the variables]
dynamic results = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<dynamic>(content);
var folderName = results.Id;
var folderId = results.Name;
//Attempt two - [Not working - Throwing exception -
//Object reference not set to an instance of an object.]
var folderID = (string)jResult["odata.context"]["odata.id"][0]["Id"];

First create a class for your json object
public class RootObject
{
[JsonProperty(PropertyName = "#odata.context")]
public string context { get; set; }
public List<Value> value { get; set; }
}
public class Value
{
[JsonProperty(PropertyName = "#odata.id")]
public string dataId { get; set; }
public string Id { get; set; }
public string DisplayName { get; set; }
public string ParentFolderId { get; set; }
public int ChildFolderCount { get; set; }
public int UnreadItemCount { get; set; }
public int TotalItemCount { get; set; }
}
Then Json Convert the Json string to your RootObject if your are using Newtonsoft Json then Deserilaze by using
RootObject shortiee = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<RootObject>("Your Json String");

private List<string> GetDisplayNames(JObject content)
{
var obj = Json.Parse(content);
var values = obj["value"].ToList();
var displayNames = new List<string>();
foreach (var value in values)
{
displayNames .Add(system["DisplayName"].ToString());
}
return displayNames;
}
This would return the names, for example, and you could do this for each value you need to retrieve. However, this does not require you to serialize/deserialize the json object before using it. It works, but is most likely not best practice.
if (jResult["odata.error"] != null)
throw new Exception((string)jResult["odata.error"]["message"]["value"]);
//Attempt one - using dynamic [NOT WORKING - getting NULL values in the variables]
dynamic results = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<dynamic>(content);
Side note: There is no key called "odata.error" in your JSON data. So you're effectively calling something which will return null.

One of the ways to deserialise JSON is to create model classes for the objects you want to process and deserialise into them directly, eg. JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<Folder>(content). As you are talking to an Office365 API, you find documentation and examples here on how they are defined.
Taken your folder response as an example, your model for a single Folder could look like this:
public class Folder
{
[JsonProperty(PropertyName = "#odata.id")]
public string OdataId { get; set; }
public string Id { get; set; }
public string DisplayName { get; set; }
public string ParentFolderId { get; set; }
public int ChildFolderCount { get; set; }
public int UnreadItemCount { get; set; }
public int TotalItemCount { get; set; }
}
Note1: in your example, you get a response with list of folders, so have to adjust this accordingly.
Note2: you can use JsonProperty to define a mapping between a JSON property/key and a C# property as shwon for #odata.id.
However, you can also use the Outlook Client Library which would make it mostly unnecessary to deal with JSON data directly (which seems preferable, unless you have a very specific reason to deal with JSON directly).

Turn string into json C#

I have this sample code that i am working with. The json is a result of the http post.
var json = #"{'user': {
'country':'US',
'email':'testapi#example.com',
'first_name':'Test',
'last_name':'API',
'phone':null,
'zip':null,
'login_url':'https://new.site.com/xlogin/12325/abd9832cd92'
}
}";
var jsonSerializer = new JavaScriptSerializer();
var itemsList = (IDictionary<string, object>)jsonSerializer.DeserializeObject(json);
var url = itemsList["user.login_url"];
On itemsList["user.login_url"] i am getting the following error:
The given key was not present in the dictionary.
Description: An unhandled exception occurred during the execution of the current web request. Please review the stack trace for more information about the error and where it originated in the code.
Exception Details: System.Collections.Generic.KeyNotFoundException: The given key was not present in the dictionary.
Source Error:
Line 545: var jsonSerializer = new JavaScriptSerializer();
Line 546: var itemsList = (IDictionary<string, object>)jsonSerializer.DeserializeObject(json);
Line 547: var url = itemsList["user.login_url"];
Line 548: }
Line 549:
Am i doing something wrong here? How should i access the first name, last name and url etc from this object?
Alternately, how can i tie this result to a class that has following properties? I just need a pointer to a good resource.
public class User
{
public string Country { get; set; }
public string Email { get; set; }
public string FirstName { get; set; }
public string LastName { get; set; }
public string Phone { get; set; }
public string Zip { get; set; }
public string LoginUrl { get; set; }
}
Thanks.

Well I really don't understand why u are using IDictionary to parse json object.
Use Newtonsoft.Json instead of jsonSerializer much more essay to use.
Go on http://json2csharp.com/ and generate your class to define you json (copy json and result is C# class).
Now tie your json to new RootObject not user:
using System;
using Newtonsoft.Json;
namespace ConsoleApplication1
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
var json = #"{'user': {
'country':'US',
'email':'testapi#example.com',
'first_name':'Test',
'last_name':'API',
'phone':null,
'zip':null,
'login_url':'https://new.site.com/xlogin/12325/abd9832cd92'
}
}";
RootObject userObj = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<RootObject>(json.ToString());
}
}
//generated with http://json2csharp.com/
public class User
{
public string country { get; set; }
public string email { get; set; }
public string first_name { get; set; }
public string last_name { get; set; }
public object phone { get; set; }
public object zip { get; set; }
public string login_url { get; set; }
}
public class RootObject
{
public User user { get; set; }
}
}

"user.login_url" is the property path you'd expect to use in JavaScript ... try accessing the dictionary keys instead
var user = itemsList["user"] as IDictionary<string,object>;
var url = user["login_url"] as string;

itemsList["user"] contains a second Dictionary. So you can navigate down to the login_url variable using
var user = (IDictionary<string, object>)itemsList["user"];
var login_url = user["login_url"];

Try using http://json.net/ it will give you a Dictionary with the types you want..

Json string deserialized to array list of objects

Please help!
Getting this error on Deserializing:
Cannot convert object of type 'System.String' to type
'System.Collections.Generic.List'
JSON string from client:
"\"[{\\"id\\":\\"18_0_2_0\\",\\"ans\\":\\"You can enter free
text in place of
*\\"},{\\"id\\":\\"23_1_3_1\\",\\"ans\\":\\"The refresh button\\"},{\\"id\\":\\"11_2_1_2\\",\\"ans\\":\\"False\\"}]\""
Edit: Unescaped (see comments):
[{"id":"18_0_2_0","ans":"You can enter free text in place of *"},{"id":"11_2_1_2","ans":"False"}]
JavaScriptSerializer serializer = new JavaScriptSerializer();
List<RawAnswer> ListAnswers = serializer.Deserialize<List<RawAnswer>>(str);
[Serializable]
public class RawAnswer
{
public string QuestionID { get; set; }
public string Answer { get; set; }
public RawAnswer() { }
}
public class AnswerList
{
public List<RawAnswer> RawAnswer { get; set; }
}

Your original json string(before aKzenT's edit) was double escaped and I used var str2 = Regex.Unescape(str); to get the actual string .
public class RawAnswer
{
public string id { get; set; }
public string ans { get; set; }
}
And no need for AnswerList
Now your code can work
JavaScriptSerializer serializer = new JavaScriptSerializer();
List<RawAnswer> ListAnswers = serializer.Deserialize<List<RawAnswer>>(str);

The JSON string you receive from the client is itself a string containing the actual JSON string you're looking for. Either fix the client to send you a correct string, or first deserialize this result into a String, and then deserialize that into a List<RawAnswer>.