We Keep Coding

JSON.NET overwrites values of dictionary by populating [duplicate]

I would like to populate the objects contained within a Dictionary from a JSON file while preserving the object references themselves.
Json.net documentation on PreserveReferencesHandling clearly state that it will not work in case a type implements System.Runtime.Serialization.ISerializable:
Specifies reference handling options for the
Newtonsoft.Json.JsonSerializer. Note that references cannot be
preserved when a value is set via a non-default constructor such as
types that implement System.Runtime.Serialization.ISerializable.
Here is my failing code:
class Model
{
public int Val { get; set; } = 123;
}
...
var model = new Model();
var to_serialize = new Dictionary<int, Model> { { 0, model } }; // works ok with list<Model>
// serialize
var jsonString = JsonConvert.SerializeObject(to_serialize, Formatting.Indented);
var jsonSerializerSettings = new JsonSerializerSettings();
jsonSerializerSettings.MissingMemberHandling = MissingMemberHandling.Ignore;
jsonSerializerSettings.PreserveReferencesHandling = PreserveReferencesHandling.All; // does not work for ISerializable
Assert.AreSame(to_serialize[0], model); // ok!
JsonConvert.PopulateObject(
value: jsonString,
target: to_serialize,
settings: jsonSerializerSettings
);
Assert.AreSame(to_serialize[0], model); // not ok... works ok with list<Model>
My main requirement is that when calling PopulateObject(), the constructor of the Model class will not be invoked. Instead, only its internal field will be updated with the value from the JSON.
In my real case, the Model class contains other values which are not in the JSON and which I don't want to lose:
[JsonObject(MemberSerialization.OptIn)]
class Model
{
[JsonProperty(PropertyName = "val_prop")]
public int Val { get; set; } = 123;
// not in the json file, would like this field to maintain the value
// it had prior to PopulateObject()
public int OtherVal { get; set; } = 456;
}
Is there a way to make this work?

Your problem is similar to the one from JsonSerializer.CreateDefault().Populate(..) resets my values: you would like to populate a preexisting collection, specifically a Dictionary<int, T> for some T, and populate the preexisting values. Unfortunately, in the case of a dictionary, Json.NET will replace the values rather than populate them, as can be seen in JsonSerializerInternalReader.PopulateDictionary() which simply deserializes the value to the appropriate type, and sets it the dictionary.
To work around this limitation, you can create a custom JsonConverter for Dictionary<TKey, TValue> when TKey is a primitive type and TValue is a complex type which merges the incoming JSON key/value pairs onto the preexisting dictionary. The following converter does the trick:
public class DictionaryMergeConverter : JsonConverter
{
static readonly IContractResolver defaultResolver = JsonSerializer.CreateDefault().ContractResolver;
readonly IContractResolver resolver = defaultResolver;
public override bool CanConvert(Type objectType)
{
var keyValueTypes = objectType.GetDictionaryKeyValueType();
if (keyValueTypes == null)
return false;
var keyContract = resolver.ResolveContract(keyValueTypes[0]);
if (!(keyContract is JsonPrimitiveContract))
return false;
var contract = resolver.ResolveContract(keyValueTypes[1]);
return contract is JsonContainerContract;
// Also possibly check whether keyValueTypes[1] is a read-only collection or dictionary.
}
public override object ReadJson(JsonReader reader, Type objectType, object existingValue, JsonSerializer serializer)
{
if (reader.MoveToContentAndAssert().TokenType == JsonToken.Null)
return null;
if (reader.TokenType != JsonToken.StartObject)
throw new JsonSerializationException(string.Format("Unexpected token {0}", reader.TokenType));
IDictionary dictionary = existingValue as IDictionary ?? (IDictionary)serializer.ContractResolver.ResolveContract(objectType).DefaultCreator();
var keyValueTypes = objectType.GetDictionaryKeyValueType();
while (reader.ReadToContentAndAssert().TokenType != JsonToken.EndObject)
{
switch (reader.TokenType)
{
case JsonToken.PropertyName:
var name = (string)reader.Value;
reader.ReadToContentAndAssert();
// TODO: DateTime keys and enums with overridden names.
var key = (keyValueTypes[0] == typeof(string) ? (object)name : Convert.ChangeType(name, keyValueTypes[0], serializer.Culture));
var value = dictionary.Contains(key) ? dictionary[key] : null;
// TODO:
// - JsonConverter active for valueType, either in contract or in serializer.Converters
// - NullValueHandling, ObjectCreationHandling, PreserveReferencesHandling,
if (value == null)
{
value = serializer.Deserialize(reader, keyValueTypes[1]);
}
else
{
serializer.Populate(reader, value);
}
dictionary[key] = value;
break;
default:
throw new JsonSerializationException(string.Format("Unexpected token {0}", reader.TokenType));
}
}
return dictionary;
}
public override bool CanWrite { get { return false; } }
public override void WriteJson(JsonWriter writer, object value, JsonSerializer serializer) { throw new NotImplementedException(); }
}
public static partial class JsonExtensions
{
public static JsonReader ReadToContentAndAssert(this JsonReader reader)
{
return reader.ReadAndAssert().MoveToContentAndAssert();
}
public static JsonReader MoveToContentAndAssert(this JsonReader reader)
{
if (reader == null)
throw new ArgumentNullException();
if (reader.TokenType == JsonToken.None) // Skip past beginning of stream.
reader.ReadAndAssert();
while (reader.TokenType == JsonToken.Comment) // Skip past comments.
reader.ReadAndAssert();
return reader;
}
public static JsonReader ReadAndAssert(this JsonReader reader)
{
if (reader == null)
throw new ArgumentNullException();
if (!reader.Read())
throw new JsonReaderException("Unexpected end of JSON stream.");
return reader;
}
}
public static class TypeExtensions
{
public static IEnumerable<Type> BaseTypesAndSelf(this Type type)
{
while (type != null)
{
yield return type;
type = type.BaseType;
}
}
public static Type[] GetDictionaryKeyValueType(this Type type)
{
return type.BaseTypesAndSelf().Where(t => t.IsGenericType && t.GetGenericTypeDefinition() == typeof(Dictionary<,>)).Select(t => t.GetGenericArguments()).FirstOrDefault();
}
}
Having done so, you will encounter a secondary issue: Json.NET will never use a custom converter to populate the root object. To work around this you will need to call JsonConverter.ReadJson() directly, from some utility method:
public static partial class JsonExtensions
{
public static void PopulateObjectWithConverter(string value, object target, JsonSerializerSettings settings)
{
if (target == null || value == null)
throw new ArgumentNullException();
var serializer = JsonSerializer.CreateDefault(settings);
var converter = serializer.Converters.Where(c => c.CanConvert(target.GetType()) && c.CanRead).FirstOrDefault() ?? serializer.ContractResolver.ResolveContract(target.GetType()).Converter;
using (var jsonReader = new JsonTextReader(new StringReader(value)))
{
if (converter == null)
serializer.Populate(jsonReader, target);
else
{
jsonReader.MoveToContentAndAssert();
var newtarget = converter.ReadJson(jsonReader, target.GetType(), target, serializer);
if (newtarget != target)
throw new JsonException(string.Format("Converter {0} allocated a new object rather than populating the existing object {1}.", converter, value));
}
}
}
}
You will now be able to populate your dictionary as follows:
var jsonString = JsonConvert.SerializeObject(to_serialize, Formatting.Indented);
var settings = new JsonSerializerSettings
{
Converters = { new DictionaryMergeConverter() },
};
JsonExtensions.PopulateObjectWithConverter(jsonString, to_serialize, settings);
Notes:
PreserveReferencesHandling has no impact on whether dictionary values are populated or replaced. Instead this setting controls whether a serialization graph with multiple references to the same object will maintain its reference topology when round-tripped.
In your question you wrote // works ok with list<Model> but in fact this is not correct. When a List<T> is populated the new values are appended to the list, so Assert.AreSame(to_serialize[0], model); passes purely by luck. If you had additionally asserted Assert.AreSame(1, to_serialize.Count) it would have failed.
While the converter will work for primitive keys such as string and int it may not work for key types that require JSON-specific conversion such as enum or DateTime.
The converter is currently only implemented for Dictionary<TKey, TValue> and takes advantage of the fact that this type implements the non-generic IDictionary interface. It could be extended to other dictionary types such as SortedDictionary<TKey,TValue> if required.
Demo fiddle here.

Accepting raw JSON Asp.net core

I have a asp.net core method, I want it to accept RAW json, I do not and will not always know the schema of the json object, so I am using dynamic types with dot notation.
This method works when I string the json escaping each character. I have tried to use the json body directly, but this did not work. So it seems my option were to Serialize and then Deserialize the json. ( very redundant) but it seems to throw error any other way if I try to use the JSON body directly.
In the debugger, everything seems to work with the Serialize and Deserialize of the object / string, but throws an error on the id(property) when I try to cast the object to string and gives the error. (In the debugger I am able to see the Id correctly though).
({Microsoft.CSharp.RuntimeBinder.RuntimeBinderException: Cannot convert type 'System.Text.Json.JsonElement' to 'string')}
I really do not see why it gives the type as a string yet cannot convert it. I have even tried to remove the casting, and still receive this error.
public IActionResult Post([FromBody] ExpandoObject requestInput)
{
try
{
//Makes a JSON String
var stringObject = (string) JsonSerializer.Serialize(requestInput);
DateTime time = DateTime.UtcNow;
// Recreated the Json Object
dynamic requestObject = JsonSerializer.Deserialize<ExpandoObject>(stringObject);
// Throws Error here, yet it shows Value as the correct Id number (Value: Type String)
string reqObject = (string) requestObject.Id;

So there is no support for ExpandoObject in .NET Core, yet. MS says that maybe it will be added in .NET 5.0. Until then, you can use this JsonConverter I found on a thread. I will post the code here in case that thread goes away.
You can use it like this:
[HttpPost, Route("testPost")]
public IActionResult TestPost([FromBody] object obj) // just use "object"
{
// object is: { "hello":"world" }
var myDynamic = JsonSerializer.Deserialize<dynamic>(
JsonSerializer.Serialize(obj), new JsonSerializerOptions
{
Converters = { new DynamicJsonConverter() }
});
var test = (string)myDynamic.hello;
// test will equal "world"
return Ok();
}
Here is the converter:
/// <summary>
/// Temp Dynamic Converter
/// by:tchivs#live.cn
/// </summary>
public class DynamicJsonConverter : JsonConverter<dynamic>
{
public override dynamic Read(ref Utf8JsonReader reader,
Type typeToConvert,
JsonSerializerOptions options)
{
if (reader.TokenType == JsonTokenType.True)
{
return true;
}
if (reader.TokenType == JsonTokenType.False)
{
return false;
}
if (reader.TokenType == JsonTokenType.Number)
{
if (reader.TryGetInt64(out long l))
{
return l;
}
return reader.GetDouble();
}
if (reader.TokenType == JsonTokenType.String)
{
if (reader.TryGetDateTime(out DateTime datetime))
{
return datetime;
}
return reader.GetString();
}
if (reader.TokenType == JsonTokenType.StartObject)
{
using JsonDocument documentV = JsonDocument.ParseValue(ref reader);
return ReadObject(documentV.RootElement);
}
// Use JsonElement as fallback.
// Newtonsoft uses JArray or JObject.
JsonDocument document = JsonDocument.ParseValue(ref reader);
return document.RootElement.Clone();
}
private object ReadObject(JsonElement jsonElement)
{
IDictionary<string, object> expandoObject = new ExpandoObject();
foreach (var obj in jsonElement.EnumerateObject())
{
var k = obj.Name;
var value = ReadValue(obj.Value);
expandoObject[k] = value;
}
return expandoObject;
}
private object? ReadValue(JsonElement jsonElement)
{
object? result = null;
switch (jsonElement.ValueKind)
{
case JsonValueKind.Object:
result = ReadObject(jsonElement);
break;
case JsonValueKind.Array:
result = ReadList(jsonElement);
break;
case JsonValueKind.String:
//TODO: Missing Datetime&Bytes Convert
result = jsonElement.GetString();
break;
case JsonValueKind.Number:
//TODO: more num type
result = 0;
if (jsonElement.TryGetInt64(out long l))
{
result = l;
}
break;
case JsonValueKind.True:
result = true;
break;
case JsonValueKind.False:
result = false;
break;
case JsonValueKind.Undefined:
case JsonValueKind.Null:
result = null;
break;
default:
throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException();
}
return result;
}
private object? ReadList(JsonElement jsonElement)
{
IList<object?> list = new List<object?>();
foreach (var item in jsonElement.EnumerateArray())
{
list.Add(ReadValue(item));
}
return list.Count == 0 ? null : list;
}
public override void Write(Utf8JsonWriter writer,
object value,
JsonSerializerOptions options)
{
// writer.WriteStringValue(value.ToString());
}
}
Edited To Add:
Here is a much slicker way to handle dynamic using the converter above as pointed out by Aluan in the comments. In your Startup.cs class, add this:
services.AddControllers().AddJsonOptions(options =>
options.JsonSerializerOptions.Converters.Add(new DynamicJsonConverter()));
Then you don't have to do any goofy stuff in your controller. You can just set the body parameter as dynamic and it magically works:
[HttpPost, Route("testPost")]
public IActionResult TestPost([FromBody] dynamic obj)
{
// object is: { "hello":"world" }
var test = (string)obj.hello;
// test will equal "world"
return Ok();
}
Way nicer!

Json.net - How to preserve dictionary value references when populating a dictionary?

I would like to populate the objects contained within a Dictionary from a JSON file while preserving the object references themselves.
Json.net documentation on PreserveReferencesHandling clearly state that it will not work in case a type implements System.Runtime.Serialization.ISerializable:
Specifies reference handling options for the
Newtonsoft.Json.JsonSerializer. Note that references cannot be
preserved when a value is set via a non-default constructor such as
types that implement System.Runtime.Serialization.ISerializable.
Here is my failing code:
class Model
{
public int Val { get; set; } = 123;
}
...
var model = new Model();
var to_serialize = new Dictionary<int, Model> { { 0, model } }; // works ok with list<Model>
// serialize
var jsonString = JsonConvert.SerializeObject(to_serialize, Formatting.Indented);
var jsonSerializerSettings = new JsonSerializerSettings();
jsonSerializerSettings.MissingMemberHandling = MissingMemberHandling.Ignore;
jsonSerializerSettings.PreserveReferencesHandling = PreserveReferencesHandling.All; // does not work for ISerializable
Assert.AreSame(to_serialize[0], model); // ok!
JsonConvert.PopulateObject(
value: jsonString,
target: to_serialize,
settings: jsonSerializerSettings
);
Assert.AreSame(to_serialize[0], model); // not ok... works ok with list<Model>
My main requirement is that when calling PopulateObject(), the constructor of the Model class will not be invoked. Instead, only its internal field will be updated with the value from the JSON.
In my real case, the Model class contains other values which are not in the JSON and which I don't want to lose:
[JsonObject(MemberSerialization.OptIn)]
class Model
{
[JsonProperty(PropertyName = "val_prop")]
public int Val { get; set; } = 123;
// not in the json file, would like this field to maintain the value
// it had prior to PopulateObject()
public int OtherVal { get; set; } = 456;
}
Is there a way to make this work?

Your problem is similar to the one from JsonSerializer.CreateDefault().Populate(..) resets my values: you would like to populate a preexisting collection, specifically a Dictionary<int, T> for some T, and populate the preexisting values. Unfortunately, in the case of a dictionary, Json.NET will replace the values rather than populate them, as can be seen in JsonSerializerInternalReader.PopulateDictionary() which simply deserializes the value to the appropriate type, and sets it the dictionary.
To work around this limitation, you can create a custom JsonConverter for Dictionary<TKey, TValue> when TKey is a primitive type and TValue is a complex type which merges the incoming JSON key/value pairs onto the preexisting dictionary. The following converter does the trick:
public class DictionaryMergeConverter : JsonConverter
{
static readonly IContractResolver defaultResolver = JsonSerializer.CreateDefault().ContractResolver;
readonly IContractResolver resolver = defaultResolver;
public override bool CanConvert(Type objectType)
{
var keyValueTypes = objectType.GetDictionaryKeyValueType();
if (keyValueTypes == null)
return false;
var keyContract = resolver.ResolveContract(keyValueTypes[0]);
if (!(keyContract is JsonPrimitiveContract))
return false;
var contract = resolver.ResolveContract(keyValueTypes[1]);
return contract is JsonContainerContract;
// Also possibly check whether keyValueTypes[1] is a read-only collection or dictionary.
}
public override object ReadJson(JsonReader reader, Type objectType, object existingValue, JsonSerializer serializer)
{
if (reader.MoveToContentAndAssert().TokenType == JsonToken.Null)
return null;
if (reader.TokenType != JsonToken.StartObject)
throw new JsonSerializationException(string.Format("Unexpected token {0}", reader.TokenType));
IDictionary dictionary = existingValue as IDictionary ?? (IDictionary)serializer.ContractResolver.ResolveContract(objectType).DefaultCreator();
var keyValueTypes = objectType.GetDictionaryKeyValueType();
while (reader.ReadToContentAndAssert().TokenType != JsonToken.EndObject)
{
switch (reader.TokenType)
{
case JsonToken.PropertyName:
var name = (string)reader.Value;
reader.ReadToContentAndAssert();
// TODO: DateTime keys and enums with overridden names.
var key = (keyValueTypes[0] == typeof(string) ? (object)name : Convert.ChangeType(name, keyValueTypes[0], serializer.Culture));
var value = dictionary.Contains(key) ? dictionary[key] : null;
// TODO:
// - JsonConverter active for valueType, either in contract or in serializer.Converters
// - NullValueHandling, ObjectCreationHandling, PreserveReferencesHandling,
if (value == null)
{
value = serializer.Deserialize(reader, keyValueTypes[1]);
}
else
{
serializer.Populate(reader, value);
}
dictionary[key] = value;
break;
default:
throw new JsonSerializationException(string.Format("Unexpected token {0}", reader.TokenType));
}
}
return dictionary;
}
public override bool CanWrite { get { return false; } }
public override void WriteJson(JsonWriter writer, object value, JsonSerializer serializer) { throw new NotImplementedException(); }
}
public static partial class JsonExtensions
{
public static JsonReader ReadToContentAndAssert(this JsonReader reader)
{
return reader.ReadAndAssert().MoveToContentAndAssert();
}
public static JsonReader MoveToContentAndAssert(this JsonReader reader)
{
if (reader == null)
throw new ArgumentNullException();
if (reader.TokenType == JsonToken.None) // Skip past beginning of stream.
reader.ReadAndAssert();
while (reader.TokenType == JsonToken.Comment) // Skip past comments.
reader.ReadAndAssert();
return reader;
}
public static JsonReader ReadAndAssert(this JsonReader reader)
{
if (reader == null)
throw new ArgumentNullException();
if (!reader.Read())
throw new JsonReaderException("Unexpected end of JSON stream.");
return reader;
}
}
public static class TypeExtensions
{
public static IEnumerable<Type> BaseTypesAndSelf(this Type type)
{
while (type != null)
{
yield return type;
type = type.BaseType;
}
}
public static Type[] GetDictionaryKeyValueType(this Type type)
{
return type.BaseTypesAndSelf().Where(t => t.IsGenericType && t.GetGenericTypeDefinition() == typeof(Dictionary<,>)).Select(t => t.GetGenericArguments()).FirstOrDefault();
}
}
Having done so, you will encounter a secondary issue: Json.NET will never use a custom converter to populate the root object. To work around this you will need to call JsonConverter.ReadJson() directly, from some utility method:
public static partial class JsonExtensions
{
public static void PopulateObjectWithConverter(string value, object target, JsonSerializerSettings settings)
{
if (target == null || value == null)
throw new ArgumentNullException();
var serializer = JsonSerializer.CreateDefault(settings);
var converter = serializer.Converters.Where(c => c.CanConvert(target.GetType()) && c.CanRead).FirstOrDefault() ?? serializer.ContractResolver.ResolveContract(target.GetType()).Converter;
using (var jsonReader = new JsonTextReader(new StringReader(value)))
{
if (converter == null)
serializer.Populate(jsonReader, target);
else
{
jsonReader.MoveToContentAndAssert();
var newtarget = converter.ReadJson(jsonReader, target.GetType(), target, serializer);
if (newtarget != target)
throw new JsonException(string.Format("Converter {0} allocated a new object rather than populating the existing object {1}.", converter, value));
}
}
}
}
You will now be able to populate your dictionary as follows:
var jsonString = JsonConvert.SerializeObject(to_serialize, Formatting.Indented);
var settings = new JsonSerializerSettings
{
Converters = { new DictionaryMergeConverter() },
};
JsonExtensions.PopulateObjectWithConverter(jsonString, to_serialize, settings);
Notes:
PreserveReferencesHandling has no impact on whether dictionary values are populated or replaced. Instead this setting controls whether a serialization graph with multiple references to the same object will maintain its reference topology when round-tripped.
In your question you wrote // works ok with list<Model> but in fact this is not correct. When a List<T> is populated the new values are appended to the list, so Assert.AreSame(to_serialize[0], model); passes purely by luck. If you had additionally asserted Assert.AreSame(1, to_serialize.Count) it would have failed.
While the converter will work for primitive keys such as string and int it may not work for key types that require JSON-specific conversion such as enum or DateTime.
The converter is currently only implemented for Dictionary<TKey, TValue> and takes advantage of the fact that this type implements the non-generic IDictionary interface. It could be extended to other dictionary types such as SortedDictionary<TKey,TValue> if required.
Demo fiddle here.

Cannot Deserialize the Current JSON Object (Empty Array)

I am trying to make this program that formats all these objects into a treeview, to do this (I'm using JSON for ordering the objects), I needed to parse the JSON, so I chose JSON.NET.
So here is an example of how the formatting is:
{
"Space": {
"ClassName": "SpaceObject",
"Name": "Space",
"Children": {
"Object1": {
"ClassName": "Object",
"Name": "Object1",
"Children": []
},
"Object2": {
"ClassName": "Object",
"Name": "Object2",
"Children": []
}
}
}
}
public class CObject
{
[JsonProperty(PropertyName = "Name")]
public string Name { get; set; }
[JsonProperty(PropertyName = "ClassName")]
public string ClassName { get; set; }
[JsonProperty(PropertyName = "Children")]
public IDictionary<string, CObject> Children { get; set; }
}
IDictionary<string, CObject> obj = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<IDictionary<string, CObject>>(Json, new JsonSerializerSettings() {
MissingMemberHandling = MissingMemberHandling.Ignore,
NullValueHandling = NullValueHandling.Ignore,
});
foreach (var i in obj) {
ExplorerView1.Nodes.Add(AddObject(i.Value));
}
I believe I found the error, it's due to a children array having no objects in it. I don't know how to fix this though, can anyone help?

JsonSingleOrEmptyArrayConverter<T> from this answer to Deserialize JSON when type can be different almost does what you need. It simply needs to be enhanced to allow the current contract type to be a dictionary contract as well as an object contract.
First, modify JsonSingleOrEmptyArrayConverter<T> as follows:
public class JsonSingleOrEmptyArrayConverter<T> : JsonConverter where T : class
{
//https://stackoverflow.com/questions/29449641/deserialize-json-when-type-can-be-different?rq=1
public override bool CanConvert(Type objectType)
{
return typeof(T).IsAssignableFrom(objectType);
}
public override bool CanWrite { get { return false; } }
public override object ReadJson(JsonReader reader, Type objectType, object existingValue, JsonSerializer serializer)
{
var contract = serializer.ContractResolver.ResolveContract(objectType);
// Allow for dictionary contracts as well as objects contracts, since both are represented by
// an unordered set of name/value pairs that begins with { (left brace) and ends with } (right brace).
if (!(contract is Newtonsoft.Json.Serialization.JsonObjectContract
|| contract is Newtonsoft.Json.Serialization.JsonDictionaryContract))
{
throw new JsonSerializationException(string.Format("Unsupported objectType {0} at {1}.", objectType, reader.Path));
}
switch (reader.SkipComments().TokenType)
{
case JsonToken.StartArray:
{
int count = 0;
while (reader.Read())
{
switch (reader.TokenType)
{
case JsonToken.Comment:
break;
case JsonToken.EndArray:
// You might want to allocate an empty object here if existingValue is null
// If so, do
// return existingValue ?? contract.DefaultCreator();
return existingValue;
default:
{
count++;
if (count > 1)
throw new JsonSerializationException(string.Format("Too many objects at path {0}.", reader.Path));
existingValue = existingValue ?? contract.DefaultCreator();
serializer.Populate(reader, existingValue);
}
break;
}
}
// Should not come here.
throw new JsonSerializationException(string.Format("Unclosed array at path {0}.", reader.Path));
}
case JsonToken.Null:
return null;
case JsonToken.StartObject:
existingValue = existingValue ?? contract.DefaultCreator();
serializer.Populate(reader, existingValue);
return existingValue;
default:
throw new InvalidOperationException("Unexpected token type " + reader.TokenType.ToString());
}
}
public override void WriteJson(JsonWriter writer, object value, JsonSerializer serializer)
{
throw new NotImplementedException();
}
}
public static partial class JsonExtensions
{
public static JsonReader SkipComments(this JsonReader reader)
{
while (reader.TokenType == JsonToken.Comment && reader.Read())
;
return reader;
}
}
Then deserialize as follows:
var settings = new JsonSerializerSettings
{
MissingMemberHandling = MissingMemberHandling.Ignore,
NullValueHandling = NullValueHandling.Ignore,
Converters = { new JsonSingleOrEmptyArrayConverter<IDictionary<string, CObject>>() },
};
var obj = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<IDictionary<string, CObject>>(Json, settings);
Notes:
My assumption is that an empty array [] is only used when there are no children. If the array is ever nonempty, this assumption will be wrong and the converter will not work correctly.
The converter returns a null value for an empty array. If you would instead prefer an empty dictionary, uncomment the following lines:
// You might want to allocate an empty object here if existingValue is null
// If so, do
// return existingValue ?? contract.DefaultCreator();
Working .Net fiddle here.

Deserialize JSON recursively to IDictionary<string,object> [duplicate]

This question already has answers here:
How do I use JSON.NET to deserialize into nested/recursive Dictionary and List?
(5 answers)
Closed 7 years ago.
I'm trying to convert some older work to use Newtonsoft JSON.NET. The default handling using the System.Web.Script.Serialization.JavaScriptSerializer.Deserialize method (e.g. if no target type is specified) is to return a Dictionary<string,object> for inner objects.
This is actually a really useful basic type for JSON since it also happens to be the underlying type used by ExpandoObjects and is the most sensible internal implementation for dynamic types.
If I specify this type, e.g.:
var dict = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<Dictionary<string,object>>(json);
JSON.NET will deserialize the outermost object structure correctly, but it returns a JObject type for any inner structures. What I really need is for the same outer structure to be used for any inner object-type structures.
Is there a way to specify a type to be used for inner objects, and not just the outermost type returned?

In order to get Json.Net to deserialize a json string into an IDictionary<string, object> including deserializing nested objects and arrays you will need to create a custom class that derives from the JsonConverter abstract class provided by Json.Net.
It is in your derived JsonConverter where you put the implementation of how an object should be written to and from json.
You can use your custom JsonConverter like this:
var o = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<IDictionary<string, object>>(json, new DictionaryConverter());
Here is a custom JsonConverter I have used with success in the past to achieve the same goals as you outline in your question:
public class DictionaryConverter : JsonConverter {
public override void WriteJson(JsonWriter writer, object value, JsonSerializer serializer) { this.WriteValue(writer, value); }
private void WriteValue(JsonWriter writer, object value) {
var t = JToken.FromObject(value);
switch (t.Type) {
case JTokenType.Object:
this.WriteObject(writer, value);
break;
case JTokenType.Array:
this.WriteArray(writer, value);
break;
default:
writer.WriteValue(value);
break;
}
}
private void WriteObject(JsonWriter writer, object value) {
writer.WriteStartObject();
var obj = value as IDictionary<string, object>;
foreach (var kvp in obj) {
writer.WritePropertyName(kvp.Key);
this.WriteValue(writer, kvp.Value);
}
writer.WriteEndObject();
}
private void WriteArray(JsonWriter writer, object value) {
writer.WriteStartArray();
var array = value as IEnumerable<object>;
foreach (var o in array) {
this.WriteValue(writer, o);
}
writer.WriteEndArray();
}
public override object ReadJson(JsonReader reader, Type objectType, object existingValue, JsonSerializer serializer) {
return ReadValue(reader);
}
private object ReadValue(JsonReader reader) {
while (reader.TokenType == JsonToken.Comment) {
if (!reader.Read()) throw new JsonSerializationException("Unexpected Token when converting IDictionary<string, object>");
}
switch (reader.TokenType) {
case JsonToken.StartObject:
return ReadObject(reader);
case JsonToken.StartArray:
return this.ReadArray(reader);
case JsonToken.Integer:
case JsonToken.Float:
case JsonToken.String:
case JsonToken.Boolean:
case JsonToken.Undefined:
case JsonToken.Null:
case JsonToken.Date:
case JsonToken.Bytes:
return reader.Value;
default:
throw new JsonSerializationException
(string.Format("Unexpected token when converting IDictionary<string, object>: {0}", reader.TokenType));
}
}
private object ReadArray(JsonReader reader) {
IList<object> list = new List<object>();
while (reader.Read()) {
switch (reader.TokenType) {
case JsonToken.Comment:
break;
default:
var v = ReadValue(reader);
list.Add(v);
break;
case JsonToken.EndArray:
return list;
}
}
throw new JsonSerializationException("Unexpected end when reading IDictionary<string, object>");
}
private object ReadObject(JsonReader reader) {
var obj = new Dictionary<string, object>();
while (reader.Read()) {
switch (reader.TokenType) {
case JsonToken.PropertyName:
var propertyName = reader.Value.ToString();
if (!reader.Read()) {
throw new JsonSerializationException("Unexpected end when reading IDictionary<string, object>");
}
var v = ReadValue(reader);
obj[propertyName] = v;
break;
case JsonToken.Comment:
break;
case JsonToken.EndObject:
return obj;
}
}
throw new JsonSerializationException("Unexpected end when reading IDictionary<string, object>");
}
public override bool CanConvert(Type objectType) { return typeof(IDictionary<string, object>).IsAssignableFrom(objectType); }
}

When Deserializing your complex objects using Json, you need to add a JsonSerializer Settings as a parameter. This will ensure that all of the inner types get deserialized properly.
private JsonSerializerSettings _jsonSettings = new JsonSerializerSettings
{
TypeNameHandling = TypeNameHandling.All,
TypeNameAssemblyFormat = FormatterAssemblyStyle.Full
};
When Serializing your object, you can use the SerializerSettings:
string json= JsonConvert.SerializeObject(myObject, _jsonSettings)
Then when you are deserializing, use:
var dict = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<Dictionary<string, object>>(json, _jsonSettings);
Also, when you serialize, add the JsonSerializerSettings to your SerializeObject(object, settings)
Edit: You can also change the TypeNameHandling and TypeNameAssemblyFormat if you need to. I have them set at 'All' and 'Full' respectively to ensure that my complex objects get serialized and deserialized properly without doubt, but intellisense provides you with other alternatives