We Keep Coding

Is there a built-in method to convert .NET Configuration to JSON?

It's easy to convert JSON into configuration, e.g. with
using var stream = new MemoryStream(Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(json));
var configuration = new ConfigurationBuilder().AddJsonStream(stream).Build();
which gives you an IConfigurationRoot.
Is there a method (preferably in one of the Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration packages) that does the reverse?
Context: I'm downloading a bunch of Azure App Configuration settings and want to export them as JSON. Similar functionality is available in the Azure Portal but I want to resolve key vault references as well.
I can probably do something like this:
// Convert to JSON
var jRoot = new JObject();
foreach (var setting in settings) {
Add(jRoot, setting.Key, setting.Value);
}
with the Add method defined as
private void Add(JObject jObject, string key, string value) {
var index = key.IndexOf(':');
if (index == -1) {
jObject[key] = value;
return;
}
var prefix = key[..index];
if (!jObject.ContainsKey(prefix)) {
jObject[prefix] = new JObject();
}
Add((JObject)jObject[prefix], key[(index + 1)..], value);
}
which I'd probably need to extend to support arrays, but I was hoping I'd not have to reinvent the wheel.

For now, I've expanded the Add method to support arrays:
private void Add(JToken jToken, string key, string value) {
var components = key.Split(":", 3);
if (components.Length == 1) {
// Leaf node
if (jToken is JArray jArray_) {
jArray_.Add(value);
} else {
jToken[components[0]] = value;
}
return;
}
// Next level
JToken nextToken;
var nextTokenIsAnArray = int.TryParse(components[1], out _);
if (jToken is JArray jArray) {
var index = int.Parse(components[0]);
if (jArray.Count == index) {
nextToken = nextTokenIsAnArray ? new JArray() : (JToken)new JObject();
jArray.Add(nextToken);
} else {
nextToken = jArray[index];
}
} else {
nextToken = jToken[components[0]];
if (nextToken == null) {
nextToken = jToken[components[0]] = nextTokenIsAnArray ? new JArray() : (JToken)new JObject();
}
}
Add(nextToken, key[(components[0].Length + 1)..], value);
}
which works for me, assuming arrays appear in the right order, e.g.
key "Foo:0", value "Bar"
key "Foo:1", value "Baz"
which gets serialized as
{ "Foo": ["Bar", "Baz"] }

Replace ID from json entity with random number without creating entity class

I have testdata.json with object like this:
"Entity": {
"ID": "1",
"name": "some name",
"City": "some city",
"address": "some address"
}
Here are my 2 methods for withdrawing and deserializing this entity:
public static string ReadSettings(string name)
{
var parts = name.Split('.', StringSplitOptions.RemoveEmptyEntries);
JObject jObj = GetObject();
foreach (var part in parts)
{
var token = jObj[part];
if (token == null)
{
return null;
}
else
{
return token.ToString();
}
}
return null;
}
private static JObject GetObject()
{
if (_jObject != null)
{
return _jObject;
}
var filename = Path.Combine(
Path.GetDirectoryName(Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().Location)!,
"testdata.json");
var json = File.ReadAllText(filename);
_jObject = JObject.Parse(json);
return _jObject;
}
My question is next: is there any way I can replace Entity.ID with random number (I need this in tests, where I create new Entity - every time test runs - there should be new Entity with new unique ID)?
p.s. I'm just learning C# so don't judge me hardly if it's simple question =)

I suppose the given testdata.json content is not the real thing since running JObject.Parse() on it gives an exception. However, you can navigate to a property with the string key indexer of the JObject class and change it as:
// Generate a new random value.
var random = new Random();
var randomValue = random.Next(minValue, maxValue);
// Navigate to the property and assign the random value as a string.
_jObject["Entity"]["ID"] = randomValue.ToString();
The property navigation of course needs to match the structure of your Json.

JSON object creation PushStreamContent

I have asp.net web api and has a HTTPResponseMessage and the api method name GetPersonDataStream, which actually stream each person object as a json. So when I see the result the actual Data has been constructed like two seperate object's with no comma in between the two objects are it isn't constructed as I required.
Actual streamed data :
{"Name":"Ram","Age":30}{"Name":"Sam","Age":32}.
But I want this to streamed as a proper JSON as:
{"response": [ {"Name":"Ram","Age":30}, {"Name":"Sam","Age":32} ]}
Is there a way we can achieve it. Below is the code I use to stream the data because the number of records will be in millions and i don't want to create all the objects at once and then streaming it, because that may be lead to Syste.OutOfMemory Exception . So is there a way we could edit/construct the object before streaming it. If yes, how can i achieve it.
CODE:
[HttpGet]
[Route("GetPersonDataStream")]
public HttpResponseMessage GetPersonDataStream()
{
List<Person> ps = new List<Person>();
Person p1 = new Person();
p1.Name = "Ram";
p1.Age = 30;
Person p2 = new Person();
p2.Name = "Sam";
p2.Age = 32;
ps.Add(p1);
ps.Add(p2);
var response = this.Request.CreateResponse(HttpStatusCode.OK);
response.Content =
new PushStreamContent((stream, content, context) =>
{
foreach (var item in ps)
{
//var result = _clmmgr.GetApprovedCCRDetail(item.ccr_id, liccrDetails);
var serializer = new JsonSerializer();
using (var writer = new StreamWriter(stream))
{
serializer.Serialize(writer, item);
stream.Flush();
}
}
});
return response;
}
public class Person
{
public string Name {get;set;}
public int Age { get; set; }
}

With JSON.NET and it's JsonTextWriter, you can wrap all the items in a JSON object with an array and still stream the result without building everything in memory first.
response.Content =
new PushStreamContent((stream, content, context) =>
{
using (var sw = new StreamWriter(stream))
using (var jsonWriter = new JsonTextWriter(sw))
{
jsonWriter.WriteStartObject();
{
jsonWriter.WritePropertyName("response");
jsonWriter.WriteStartArray();
{
foreach (var item in ps)
{
var jObject = JObject.FromObject(item);
jObject.WriteTo(jsonWriter);
}
}
jsonWriter.WriteEndArray();
}
jsonWriter.WriteEndObject();
}
});

Json.net deserialize DateTime from HTTPClient result

I am using HTTPCLient to call RestFul service. My problem when parsing DateTime.
Because in my class I have DateTime Property. Which in Json it is type long. Json key is: exp
{
"resultCodes": "OK",
"description": "OK",
"pans": {
"maskedPan": [
{
"id": "4b533683-bla-bla-3517",
"pan": "67*********98",
"exp": 1446321600000,
"isDefault": true
},
{
"id": "a3093f00-zurna-01e18a8d4d72",
"pan": "57*********96",
"exp": 1554058800000,
"isDefault": false
}
]
}
}
In documentation i read that
To minimize memory usage and the number of objects allocated Json.NET supports serializing and deserializing directly to a stream.
So =>
WAY 1 (Reading via GetStringAsync). In documentation has written that use StreamReader instead.
return Task.Factory.StartNew(() =>
{
var client = new HttpClient(_handler);
var url = String.Format(_baseUrl + #"list/{0}", sessionId);
BillsList result;
var rrrrr = client.GetStringAsync(url).Result;
result = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<BillsList>(rrrrr,
new MyDateTimeConverter());
return result;
}, cancellationToken);
WAY 2(Good way. I read via StreamReader. Bu in line var rTS = sr.ReadToEnd(); it creates new string. It is not good. Because i have used GetStreamAsync to avoid of creating string variable.)
return Task.Factory.StartNew(() =>
{
var client = new HttpClient(_handler);
var url = String.Format(_baseUrl + #"list/{0}", sessionId);
BillsList result;
using (var s = client.GetStreamAsync(url).Result)
using (var sr = new StreamReader(s))
using (JsonReader reader = new JsonTextReader(sr))
{
var rTS = sr.ReadToEnd();
result = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<BillsList>(rTS,
new MyDateTimeConverter());
}
return result;
}, cancellationToken);
WAY 3(The best. But it gives exception if property is DateTime in my class. )
return Task.Factory.StartNew(() =>
{
var client = new HttpClient(_handler);
var url = String.Format(_baseUrl + #"list/{0}", sessionId);
BillsList result;
using (var s = client.GetStreamAsync(url).Result)
using (var sr = new StreamReader(s))
using (JsonReader reader = new JsonTextReader(sr))
{
var serializer = new JsonSerializer();
result = serializer.Deserialize<BillsList>(reader);
}
return result;
}, cancellationToken);
So my question. I want to continue with 3-rd way. But have there any way to set some handler as MyDateTimeConverter for JsonSerializer to convert it automatically?

You can set up default JsonSerializerSettings when your app is initialized:
// This needs to be done only once, so put it in an appropriate static initializer.
JsonConvert.DefaultSettings = () => new JsonSerializerSettings
{
Converters = new List<JsonConverter> { new MyDateTimeConverter() }
};
Then later you can use JsonSerializer.CreateDefault
JsonSerializer serializer = JsonSerializer.CreateDefault();
result = serializer.Deserialize<BillsList>(reader);

You can add your MyDateTimeConverter to the Converters collection on the JsonSerializer; that should allow you to use your third approach without getting errors.
var serializer = new JsonSerializer();
serializer.Converters.Add(new MyDateTimeConverter());
result = serializer.Deserialize<BillsList>(reader);

Retrieving Data From XML File

I seem to be having a problem with retrieving XML values with C#, which I know it is due to my very limited knowledge of C# and .XML.
I was given the following XML file
<PowerBuilderRunTimes>
<PowerBuilderRunTime>
<Version>12</Version>
<Files>
<File>EasySoap110.dll</File>
<File>exPat110.dll</File>
<File>pbacc110.dll</File>
</File>
</PowerBuilderRunTime>
</PowerBuilderRunTimes>
I am to process the XML file and make sure that each of the files in the exist in the folder (that's the easy part). It's the processing of the XML file that I have having a hard time with. Here is what I have done thus far:
var runtimeXml = File.ReadAllText(string.Format("{0}\\{1}", configPath, Resource.PBRuntimes));
var doc = XDocument.Parse(runtimeXml);
var topElement = doc.Element("PowerBuilderRunTimes");
var elements = topElement.Elements("PowerBuilderRunTime");
foreach (XElement section in elements)
{
//pbVersion is grabbed earlier. It is the version of PowerBuilder
if( section.Element("Version").Value.Equals(string.Format("{0}", pbVersion ) ) )
{
var files = section.Elements("Files");
var fileList = new List<string>();
foreach (XElement area in files)
{
fileList.Add(area.Element("File").Value);
}
}
}
My issue is that the String List is only ever populated with one value, "EasySoap110.dll", and everything else is ignored. Can someone please help me, as I am at a loss.

Look at this bit:
var files = section.Elements("Files");
var fileList = new List<string>();
foreach (XElement area in files)
{
fileList.Add(area.Element("File").Value);
}
You're iterating over each Files element, and then finding the first File element within it. There's only one Files element - you need to be iterating over the File elements within that.
However, there are definitely better ways of doing this. For example:
var doc = XDocument.Load(Path.Combine(configPath, Resource.PBRuntimes));
var fileList = (from runtime in doc.Root.Elements("PowerBuilderRunTime")
where (int) runtime.Element("Version") == pbVersion
from file in runtime.Element("Files").Elements("File")
select file.Value)
.ToList();
Note that if there are multiple matching PowerBuilderRunTime elements, that will create a list with all the files of all those elements. That may not be what you want. For example, you might want:
var doc = XDocument.Load(Path.Combine(configPath, Resource.PBRuntimes));
var runtime = doc.Root
.Elements("PowerBuilderRunTime")
.Where(r => (int) r.Element("Version") == pbVersion)
.Single();
var fileList = runtime.Element("Files")
.Elements("File")
.Select(x => x.Value)
.ToList();
That will validate that there's exactly one matching runtime.

The problem is, there's only one element in your XML, with multiple children. You foreach loop only executes once, for the single element, not for its children.
Do something like this:
var fileSet = files.Elements("File");
foreach (var file in fileSet) {
fileList.Add(file.Value);
}
which loops over all children elements.

I always preferred using readers for reading homegrown XML config files. If you're only doing this once it's probably over kill, but readers are faster and cheaper.
public static class PowerBuilderConfigParser
{
public static IList<PowerBuilderConfig> ReadConfigFile(String path)
{
IList<PowerBuilderConfig> configs = new List<PowerBuilderConfig>();
using (FileStream stream = new FileStream(path, FileMode.Open))
{
XmlReader reader = XmlReader.Create(stream);
reader.ReadToDescendant("PowerBuilderRunTime");
do
{
PowerBuilderConfig config = new PowerBuilderConfig();
ReadVersionNumber(config, reader);
ReadFiles(config, reader);
configs.Add(config);
reader.ReadToNextSibling("PowerBuilderRunTime");
} while (reader.ReadToNextSibling("PowerBuilderRunTime"));
}
return configs;
}
private static void ReadVersionNumber(PowerBuilderConfig config, XmlReader reader)
{
reader.ReadToDescendant("Version");
string version = reader.ReadString();
Int32 versionNumber;
if (Int32.TryParse(version, out versionNumber))
{
config.Version = versionNumber;
}
}
private static void ReadFiles(PowerBuilderConfig config, XmlReader reader)
{
reader.ReadToNextSibling("Files");
reader.ReadToDescendant("File");
do
{
string file = reader.ReadString();
if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(file))
{
config.AddConfigFile(file);
}
} while (reader.ReadToNextSibling("File"));
}
}
public class PowerBuilderConfig
{
private Int32 _version;
private readonly IList<String> _files;
public PowerBuilderConfig()
{
_files = new List<string>();
}
public Int32 Version
{
get { return _version; }
set { _version = value; }
}
public ReadOnlyCollection<String> Files
{
get { return new ReadOnlyCollection<String>(_files); }
}
public void AddConfigFile(String fileName)
{
_files.Add(fileName);
}
}

Another way is to use a XmlSerializer.
[Serializable]
[XmlRoot]
public class PowerBuilderRunTime
{
[XmlElement]
public string Version {get;set;}
[XmlArrayItem("File")]
public string[] Files {get;set;}
public static PowerBuilderRunTime[] Load(string fileName)
{
PowerBuilderRunTime[] runtimes;
using (var fs = new FileStream(fileName, FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read))
{
var reader = new XmlTextReader(fs);
runtimes = (PowerBuilderRunTime[])new XmlSerializer(typeof(PowerBuilderRunTime[])).Deserialize(reader);
}
return runtimes;
}
}
You can get all the runtimes strongly typed, and use each PowerBuilderRunTime's Files property to loop through all the string file names.
var runtimes = PowerBuilderRunTime.Load(string.Format("{0}\\{1}", configPath, Resource.PBRuntimes));

You should try replacing this stuff with a simple XPath query.
string configPath;
System.Xml.XPath.XPathDocument xpd = new System.Xml.XPath.XPathDocument(cofigPath);
System.Xml.XPath.XPathNavigator xpn = xpd.CreateNavigator();
System.Xml.XPath.XPathExpression exp = xpn.Compile(#"/PowerBuilderRunTimes/PwerBuilderRunTime/Files//File");
System.Xml.XPath.XPathNodeIterator iterator = xpn.Select(exp);
while (iterator.MoveNext())
{
System.Xml.XPath.XPathNavigator nav2 = iterator.Current.Clone();
//access value with nav2.value
}