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Send JSON via POST in C# and Use LINQ to access Objects

I want to be able to access the JSON objects with LINQ when the JSON is returned.
I have referred to Send JSON via POST in C# and Receive the JSON returned? and Send and receive json via HttpClient
This is what I have so far
public static async Task<string> GetMailTip(string user)
{
var jsonData = new StringContent(FormatJson(CreateJsonGettingMailTip(user)), Encoding.UTF8, "application/json");
var payload = await client.PostAsync($"https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/users/{user}/getMailTips", jsonData);
string responseContent = "";
if (payload.Content != null)
{
responseContent = await payload.Content.ReadAsStringAsync();
Console.WriteLine(responseContent);
}
var getMailTip = responseContent["value"]
.Children()
.Where(i => i != null)
.Select(c => c[""][""].Value<string>().Trim());
return responseContent;
}
The returned JSON is
{
"#odata.context": "https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/$metadata#Collection(microsoft.graph.mailTips)",
"value": [
{
"emailAddress": {
"name": "",
"address": ""
},
"automaticReplies": {
"message": "",
"messageLanguage": {
"locale": "",
"displayName": ""
},
"scheduledStartTime": {
"dateTime": "",
"timeZone": ""
},
"scheduledEndTime": {
"dateTime": "",
"timeZone": ""
}
}
}
]
}
I want to be able to access the message property in the JSON with LINQ
Any help would be appreciated

You go to http://quicktype.io (or similar online service, jsonutils, json2csharp, or use the Visual studio Paste Json as Classes feature - of all the sites that do this QT is the most full featured) to turn your json into classes. This makes it nicer to work with:
// <auto-generated />
//
// To parse this JSON data, add NuGet 'Newtonsoft.Json' then do:
//
// using SomeNamespaceHere;
//
// var rootClassNameHere = RootClassNameHere.FromJson(jsonString);
namespace SomeNamespaceHere
{
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Globalization;
using Newtonsoft.Json;
using Newtonsoft.Json.Converters;
public partial class RootClassNameHere
{
[JsonProperty("#odata.context")]
public Uri OdataContext { get; set; }
[JsonProperty("value")]
public Value[] Value { get; set; }
}
public partial class Value
{
[JsonProperty("emailAddress")]
public EmailAddress EmailAddress { get; set; }
[JsonProperty("automaticReplies")]
public AutomaticReplies AutomaticReplies { get; set; }
}
public partial class AutomaticReplies
{
[JsonProperty("message")]
public string Message { get; set; }
[JsonProperty("messageLanguage")]
public MessageLanguage MessageLanguage { get; set; }
[JsonProperty("scheduledStartTime")]
public ScheduledTime ScheduledStartTime { get; set; }
[JsonProperty("scheduledEndTime")]
public ScheduledTime ScheduledEndTime { get; set; }
}
public partial class MessageLanguage
{
[JsonProperty("locale")]
public string Locale { get; set; }
[JsonProperty("displayName")]
public string DisplayName { get; set; }
}
public partial class ScheduledTime
{
[JsonProperty("dateTime")]
public string DateTime { get; set; }
[JsonProperty("timeZone")]
public string TimeZone { get; set; }
}
public partial class EmailAddress
{
[JsonProperty("name")]
public string Name { get; set; }
[JsonProperty("address")]
public string Address { get; set; }
}
public partial class RootClassNameHere
{
public static RootClassNameHere FromJson(string json) => JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<RootClassNameHere>(json, SomeNamespaceHere.Converter.Settings);
}
public static class Serialize
{
public static string ToJson(this RootClassNameHere self) => JsonConvert.SerializeObject(self, SomeNamespaceHere.Converter.Settings);
}
internal static class Converter
{
public static readonly JsonSerializerSettings Settings = new JsonSerializerSettings
{
MetadataPropertyHandling = MetadataPropertyHandling.Ignore,
DateParseHandling = DateParseHandling.None,
Converters =
{
new IsoDateTimeConverter { DateTimeStyles = DateTimeStyles.AssumeUniversal }
},
};
}
}
(I chose "SomeNamespaceHere" and "RootClassNameHere" for the relevant names of namespace and class root; you might choose different)
And then you use it like this (the deser step will work differently depending on the service you used):
var rootClassNameHere = RootClassNameHere.FromJson(jsonString); //deser
var someLinq = rootClassNameHere.Value.Select(v => v.AutomaticReplies.Message); //query

How to deal with inherited classes when using the JSON format?

I need my web-api to return a list of Rule instances serialized in json format.
[HttpGet]
[SwaggerOperation(nameof(GetRules))]
[SwaggerResponse(StatusCodes.Status200OK, typeof(List<Rule>), "Rules")]
[ProducesResponseType(StatusCodes.Status200OK)]
public async Task<IActionResult> GetRules()
{
List<Rule> rules = /* retrieve rule from some storage */;
return Ok(rules);
}
For now, there are 2 kinds of rules, each with specific properties on top of the ones shared in the Rule class; one rule is called RuleWithExpiration and the other RuleWithGracePeriod.
[JsonObject(MemberSerialization.OptIn)]
public class Rule
{
[JsonProperty("id")]
public Guid Id { get; }
[JsonProperty("name")]
public string Name { get; }
[JsonConstructor]
public Rule(Guid id, string name)
{
Id = id;
Name = name;
}
}
[JsonObject(MemberSerialization.OptIn)]
public class RuleWithExpiration : Rule
{
[JsonProperty("someInfo")]
public string SomeInfo { get; }
[JsonProperty("expiration")]
DateTime Expiration { get; }
[JsonConstructor]
public RuleWithExpiration(Guid id, string name, string someInfo, DateTime expiration) : base(id, name)
{
SomeInfo = someInfo;
Expiration = expiration;
}
}
[JsonObject(MemberSerialization.OptIn)]
public class RuleWithGracePeriod : Rule
{
[JsonProperty("gracePeriod")]
public TimeSpan GracePeriod { get; }
[JsonConstructor]
public RuleWithGracePeriod(Guid id, string name, TimeSpan gracePeriod) : base(id, name)
{
GracePeriod = gracePeriod;
}
}
The problem I have is that this class hierarchy has issues when I try to deserialized it. After the deserialization, I end up with a list of Rule instances since I do not ask the serializer to include the type information, as it is considered a security issue.
void Main()
{
List<Rule> rules = new List<Rule>
{
new RuleWithExpiration(Guid.NewGuid(), "Rule with expiration", "Wat?", DateTime.UtcNow.AddHours(1d)),
new RuleWithGracePeriod(Guid.NewGuid(), "Rule with grace period", TimeSpan.FromHours(1d)),
};
var serializedRule = JsonConvert.SerializeObject(rules);
serializedRule.Dump();
List<Rule> deserializedRule = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<List<Rule>>(serializedRule);
deserializedRule.Dump();
}
Here is the serialized string:
[{"someInfo":"Wat?","expiration":"2018-07-26T13:32:06.2287669Z","id":"29fa0603-c103-4a95-b627-0097619a7645","name":"Rule with expiration"},{"gracePeriod":"01:00:00","id":"bd8777bb-c6b3-4172-916a-546775062eb1","name":"Rule with grace period"}]
And here is the list of Rule instances I get after it is deserialized (as shown in LINQPad):
Question
Is it possible to keep this inheritance tree in this context or do I have to rearrange these classes somehow? If so, what would be the way to do this?
Solution
I have not found solutions that felt good.
For instance, I could have some
RuleAggregate class like this one, but everytime I introduce a new kind of rule, I have to edit this class and deal with the impact:
[JsonObject(MemberSerialization.OptIn)]
public class RuleAggregate
{
[JsonProperty("expirations")]
public List<RuleWithExpiration> Expirations {get;}
[JsonProperty("gracePeriods")]
public List<RuleWithGracePeriod> GracePeriods {get;}
[JsonConstructor]
public RuleAggregate(List<RuleWithExpiration> expirations, List<RuleWithGracePeriod> gracePeriods)
{
Expirations = expirations;
GracePeriods = gracePeriods;
}
}
The solution I found with the less trade-offs -if I want to keep the inheritance tree- is to fall back on the good ol' XML serialization.

Ok, right, plain TypeNameHandling.All makes it vulnerable. What about this approach?
void Main()
{
Stockholder stockholder = new Stockholder
{
FullName = "Steve Stockholder",
Businesses = new List<Business>
{
new Hotel
{
Name = "Hudson Hotel",
Stars = 4
}
}
};
var settings = new JsonSerializerSettings
{
TypeNameHandling = TypeNameHandling.Objects,
SerializationBinder = new KnownTypesBinder { KnownTypes = new List<Type> { typeof(Stockholder), typeof(Hotel) }}
};
string ok;
/*
ok = JsonConvert.SerializeObject(stockholder, Newtonsoft.Json.Formatting.Indented, settings);
Console.WriteLine(ok);*/
ok = #"{
""$type"": ""Stockholder"",
""FullName"": ""Steve Stockholder"",
""Businesses"": [
{
""$type"": ""Hotel"",
""Stars"": 4,
""Name"": ""Hudson Hotel""
}
]
}";
JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<Stockholder>(ok, settings).Dump();
var vector = #"{
""$type"": ""Stockholder"",
""FullName"": ""Steve Stockholder"",
""Businesses"": [
{
""$type"": ""System.IO.FileInfo, System.IO.FileSystem"",
""fileName"": ""d:\rce-test.txt"",
""IsReadOnly"": true
}
]
}";
JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<Stockholder>(vector, settings).Dump(); // will fail
}
public class KnownTypesBinder : ISerializationBinder
{
public IList<Type> KnownTypes { get; set; }
public Type BindToType(string assemblyName, string typeName)
{
return KnownTypes.SingleOrDefault(t => t.Name == typeName);
}
public void BindToName(Type serializedType, out string assemblyName, out string typeName)
{
assemblyName = null;
typeName = serializedType.Name;
}
}
public abstract class Business
{
public string Name { get; set; }
}
public class Hotel: Business
{
public int Stars { get; set; }
}
public class Stockholder
{
public string FullName { get; set; }
public IList<Business> Businesses { get; set; }
}

Remove empty string properties from json serialized object

I have a class. It has several properties lets say 10. Out of these 10, 3 are filled with data remaining 7 are blank.i.e. empty strings "" Used this link as reference. I would like only NON-NULL and NON-EMPTY string properties to be shown. But the end output has all 10 properties. I want only to see 3.
namespace Mynamespace.ValueObjects
{
[DataContract]
public class User
{
[DataMember(Name ="userID", IsRequired = false,EmitDefaultValue = false)]
public string userID { get; set; }
[DataMember(Name ="ssn", IsRequired = false,EmitDefaultValue = false)]
public string ssn { get; set; }
[DataMember(Name ="empID", IsRequired = false,EmitDefaultValue = false)]
public string empID { get; set; }
[DataMember(Name ="schemaAgencyName", IsRequired = false,EmitDefaultValue = false)]
public string schemaAgencyName { get; set; }
[DataMember(Name ="givenName", IsRequired = false,EmitDefaultValue = false)]
public string givenName { get; set; }
[DataMember(Name ="familyName", IsRequired = false,EmitDefaultValue = false)]
public string familyName { get; set; }
[DataMember(Name ="password", IsRequired = false,EmitDefaultValue = false)]
public string password { get; set; }
....
}
}
I also tried with
[JsonProperty(NullValueHandling = NullValueHandling.Ignore)]
as the attribute too. No luck. I also did like this
var t = JsonConvert.SerializeObject(usr, Newtonsoft.Json.Formatting.None,
new JsonSerializerSettings
{NullValueHandling = NullValueHandling.Ignore});
where 'usr' is the User instance. By no luck I mean, the 't' comes back with all the 10 properties
{"userID":"vick187","ssn":"","empID":"","schemaAgencyName":"","givenName":"","familyName":"","password":"pwd1234",...}
So as you can see only userID and password are populated. But I have ssn, empID etc still showing up. I only want userID and password. Any help would be appreciated.

Just decorating the properties [JsonProperty(NullValueHandling = NullValueHandling.Ignore)] ONLY should do what you want. Unless the property is getting set to an empty string.
Just wondering, why do you need the DataMemeber attribute?
Here is a link to a working dotnetfiddle
using System;
using Newtonsoft.Json;
using System.ComponentModel;
public class Program
{
public static void Main()
{
var user = new User();
user.UserID = "1234";
user.ssn = "";
var settings = new JsonSerializerSettings();
settings.NullValueHandling = NullValueHandling.Ignore;
settings.DefaultValueHandling = DefaultValueHandling.Ignore;
Console.WriteLine(JsonConvert.SerializeObject(user, settings));
}
}
public class User
{
[DefaultValue("")]
public string UserID { get; set; }
[DefaultValue("")]
public string ssn { get; set; }
[DefaultValue("")]
public string empID { get; set; }
[DefaultValue("")]
public string schemaAgencyName { get; set; }
[DefaultValue("")]
public string givenName { get; set; }
[DefaultValue("")]
public string familyName { get; set; }
[DefaultValue("")]
public string password { get; set; }
}

You can also use two annotations as follows:
[DefaultValue("")]
[JsonProperty(DefaultValueHandling = DefaultValueHandling.Ignore)]
public string Category { get; set; }

Although the accepted answers works, it also removes integer properties of zero value. I was looking for something more generic to work with large objects.
Found a great answer here: https://codearticles.ru/articles/2905?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1
And consolidated it for our use case as below:
public class ShouldSerializeContractResolver : DefaultContractResolver
{
public static readonly ShouldSerializeContractResolver Instance = new ShouldSerializeContractResolver();
protected override JsonProperty CreateProperty(MemberInfo member, MemberSerialization memberSerialization)
{
JsonProperty property = base.CreateProperty(member, memberSerialization);
if (property.PropertyType == typeof(string))
{
// Do not include emptry strings
property.ShouldSerialize = instance =>
{
return !string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(instance.GetType().GetProperty(member.Name).GetValue(instance, null) as string);
};
}
else if (property.PropertyType == typeof(DateTime))
{
// Do not include zero DateTime
property.ShouldSerialize = instance =>
{
return Convert.ToDateTime(instance.GetType().GetProperty(member.Name).GetValue(instance, null)) != default(DateTime);
};
}
else if (typeof(IEnumerable).IsAssignableFrom(property.PropertyType))
{
// Do not include zero-length lists
switch (member.MemberType)
{
case MemberTypes.Property:
property.ShouldSerialize = instance =>
{
var enumerable = instance.GetType().GetProperty(member.Name).GetValue(instance, null) as IEnumerable;
return enumerable != null ? enumerable.GetEnumerator().MoveNext() : false;
};
break;
case MemberTypes.Field:
property.ShouldSerialize = instance =>
{
var enumerable = instance.GetType().GetField(member.Name).GetValue(instance) as IEnumerable;
return enumerable != null ? enumerable.GetEnumerator().MoveNext() : false;
};
break;
}
}
return property;
}
}
This can be used as follows:
JsonConvert.SerializeObject(o,
Newtonsoft.Json.Formatting.None,
new JsonSerializerSettings
{
NullValueHandling = NullValueHandling.Ignore,
ContractResolver = ShouldSerializeContractResolver.Instance
});

i have done this with a converter.
using System;
using Newtonsoft.Json;
using Newtonsoft.Json.Linq;
namespace TestApp.JsonConverterResolver
{
public class IgnoreEmptyStringsConverter : JsonConverter
{
#region Methods
public override bool CanConvert(Type objectType)
{
return objectType == typeof(string);
}
public override object ReadJson(JsonReader reader, Type objectType, object existingValue,
JsonSerializer serializer)
{
var theValue = reader.Value?.ToString();
return !string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(theValue) ? theValue : null;
}
public override void WriteJson(JsonWriter writer, object value, JsonSerializer serializer)
{
if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(value.ToString()))
{
JToken token = JToken.FromObject(value.ToString(), serializer);
token.WriteTo(writer);
return;
}
writer.WriteNull();
}
#endregion
}
}
Example person model class:
public class Person
{
public string Name { get; set; }
}
And the ueage:
var serializerSettings = new JsonSerializerSettings
{
Formatting = Newtonsoft.Json.Formatting.Indented,
NullValueHandling = Newtonsoft.Json.NullValueHandling.Ignore,
Converters = new List<JsonConverter> {new IgnoreEmptyStringsConverter()}
};
var person = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<Person>("{ \"Name\":\"\" }", serializerSettings);
var jsonPerson = JsonConvert.SerializeObject(new Person { Name = "" }, serializerSettings);
I just wrote that out of my head.
But I think that's how I solved it at some point.
Maybe it helps someone.

How to serialize static properties in JSON.NET without adding [JsonProperty] attribute

Is it possible to serialize static properties with JSON.NET without adding [JsonProperty] attribute to each property.
Example class:
public class Settings
{
public static int IntSetting { get; set; }
public static string StrSetting { get; set; }
static Settings()
{
IntSetting = 5;
StrSetting = "Test str";
}
}
Expected result:
{
"IntSetting": 5,
"StrSetting": "Test str"
}
Default behavior skips static properties:
var x = JsonConvert.SerializeObject(new Settings(), Formatting.Indented);

You can do this with a custom contract resolver. Specifically you need to subclass DefaultContractResolver and override the GetSerializableMembers function:
public class StaticPropertyContractResolver : DefaultContractResolver
{
protected override List<MemberInfo> GetSerializableMembers(Type objectType)
{
var baseMembers = base.GetSerializableMembers(objectType);
PropertyInfo[] staticMembers =
objectType.GetProperties(BindingFlags.Static | BindingFlags.Public);
baseMembers.AddRange(staticMembers);
return baseMembers;
}
}
Here all we're doing is calling the base implementation of GetSerializableMembers, then adding public static properties to our list of members to serialize.
To use it you can create a new JsonSerializerSettings object and set the ContractResolver to an instance of the StaticPropertyContractResolver:
var serializerSettings = new JsonSerializerSettings();
serializerSettings.ContractResolver = new StaticPropertyContractResolver();
Now, pass those settings to JsonConvert.SerializeObject and everything should work:
string json = JsonConvert.SerializeObject(new Settings(), serializerSettings);
Output:
{
"IntSetting": 5,
"StrSetting": "Test str"
}
Example: https://dotnetfiddle.net/pswTJW

A more complicated way to solve this:
Solution 1:
public class Settings
{
int intsetting { get; set; } /*= 0;*/ // commented only allowed in C# 6+
string strsetting { get; set; } /*= "";*/
public int IntSetting { get { return intsetting; } set { intsetting = value; } }
public string StrSetting { get { return strsetting; } set { strsetting = value; } }
static Settings()
{
IntSetting = 5;
StrSetting = "Test str";
}
}
Solution 2: (less complicated)
public class Settings
{
[JsonProperty]
public static int IntSetting { get; set; }
[JsonProperty]
public static string StrSetting { get; set; }
static Settings()
{
IntSetting = 5;
StrSetting = "Test str";
}
}
Adding the [JsonProperty] to all variables would be the easyest way of solving this, but when you don't want to use it Solution 1 would fit best for you.

Parse JSON in C#

I'm trying to parse some JSON data from the Google AJAX Search API. I have this URL and I'd like to break it down so that the results are displayed. I've currently written this code, but I'm pretty lost in regards of what to do next, although there are a number of examples out there with simplified JSON strings.
Being new to C# and .NET in general I've struggled to get a genuine text output for my ASP.NET page so I've been recommended to give JSON.NET a try. Could anyone point me in the right direction to just simply writing some code that'll take in JSON from the Google AJAX Search API and print it out to the screen?
EDIT: ALL FIXED! All results are working fine. Thank you again Dreas Grech!
using System;
using System.Data;
using System.Configuration;
using System.Web;
using System.Web.Security;
using System.Web.UI;
using System.Web.UI.WebControls;
using System.Web.UI.WebControls.WebParts;
using System.Web.UI.HtmlControls;
using System.ServiceModel.Web;
using System.Runtime.Serialization;
using System.Runtime.Serialization.Json;
using System.IO;
using System.Text;
public partial class _Default : System.Web.UI.Page
{
protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
GoogleSearchResults g1 = new GoogleSearchResults();
const string json = #"{""responseData"": {""results"":[{""GsearchResultClass"":""GwebSearch"",""unescapedUrl"":""http://www.cheese.com/"",""url"":""http://www.cheese.com/"",""visibleUrl"":""www.cheese.com"",""cacheUrl"":""http://www.google.com/search?q\u003dcache:bkg1gwNt8u4J:www.cheese.com"",""title"":""\u003cb\u003eCHEESE\u003c/b\u003e.COM - All about \u003cb\u003echeese\u003c/b\u003e!."",""titleNoFormatting"":""CHEESE.COM - All about cheese!."",""content"":""\u003cb\u003eCheese\u003c/b\u003e - everything you want to know about it. Search \u003cb\u003echeese\u003c/b\u003e by name, by types of milk, by textures and by countries.""},{""GsearchResultClass"":""GwebSearch"",""unescapedUrl"":""http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheese"",""url"":""http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheese"",""visibleUrl"":""en.wikipedia.org"",""cacheUrl"":""http://www.google.com/search?q\u003dcache:n9icdgMlCXIJ:en.wikipedia.org"",""title"":""\u003cb\u003eCheese\u003c/b\u003e - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia"",""titleNoFormatting"":""Cheese - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia"",""content"":""\u003cb\u003eCheese\u003c/b\u003e is a food consisting of proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. It is produced by coagulation of the milk \u003cb\u003e...\u003c/b\u003e""},{""GsearchResultClass"":""GwebSearch"",""unescapedUrl"":""http://www.ilovecheese.com/"",""url"":""http://www.ilovecheese.com/"",""visibleUrl"":""www.ilovecheese.com"",""cacheUrl"":""http://www.google.com/search?q\u003dcache:GBhRR8ytMhQJ:www.ilovecheese.com"",""title"":""I Love \u003cb\u003eCheese\u003c/b\u003e!, Homepage"",""titleNoFormatting"":""I Love Cheese!, Homepage"",""content"":""The American Dairy Association\u0026#39;s official site includes recipes and information on nutrition and storage of \u003cb\u003echeese\u003c/b\u003e.""},{""GsearchResultClass"":""GwebSearch"",""unescapedUrl"":""http://www.gnome.org/projects/cheese/"",""url"":""http://www.gnome.org/projects/cheese/"",""visibleUrl"":""www.gnome.org"",""cacheUrl"":""http://www.google.com/search?q\u003dcache:jvfWnVcSFeQJ:www.gnome.org"",""title"":""\u003cb\u003eCheese\u003c/b\u003e"",""titleNoFormatting"":""Cheese"",""content"":""\u003cb\u003eCheese\u003c/b\u003e uses your webcam to take photos and videos, applies fancy special effects and lets you share the fun with others. It was written as part of Google\u0026#39;s \u003cb\u003e...\u003c/b\u003e""}],""cursor"":{""pages"":[{""start"":""0"",""label"":1},{""start"":""4"",""label"":2},{""start"":""8"",""label"":3},{""start"":""12"",""label"":4},{""start"":""16"",""label"":5},{""start"":""20"",""label"":6},{""start"":""24"",""label"":7},{""start"":""28"",""label"":8}],""estimatedResultCount"":""14400000"",""currentPageIndex"":0,""moreResultsUrl"":""http://www.google.com/search?oe\u003dutf8\u0026ie\u003dutf8\u0026source\u003duds\u0026start\u003d0\u0026hl\u003den-GB\u0026q\u003dcheese""}}, ""responseDetails"": null, ""responseStatus"": 200}";
g1 = JSONHelper.Deserialise<GoogleSearchResults>(json);
Response.Write(g1.content);
}
}
public class JSONHelper
{
public static T Deserialise<T>(string json)
{
T obj = Activator.CreateInstance<T>();
MemoryStream ms = new MemoryStream(Encoding.Unicode.GetBytes(json));
DataContractJsonSerializer serialiser = new DataContractJsonSerializer(obj.GetType());
ms.Close();
return obj;
}
}
/// Deserialise from JSON
[Serializable]
public class GoogleSearchResults
{
public GoogleSearchResults() { }
public GoogleSearchResults(string _unescapedUrl, string _url, string _visibleUrl, string _cacheUrl, string _title, string _titleNoFormatting, string _content)
{
this.unescapedUrl = _unescapedUrl;
this.url = _url;
this.visibleUrl = _visibleUrl;
this.cacheUrl = _cacheUrl;
this.title = _title;
this.titleNoFormatting = _titleNoFormatting;
this.content = _content;
}
string _unescapedUrl;
string _url;
string _visibleUrl;
string _cacheUrl;
string _title;
string _titleNoFormatting;
string _content;
[DataMember]
public string unescapedUrl
{
get { return _unescapedUrl; }
set { _unescapedUrl = value; }
}
[DataMember]
public string url
{
get { return _url; }
set { _url = value; }
}
[DataMember]
public string visibleUrl
{
get { return _visibleUrl; }
set { _visibleUrl = value; }
}
[DataMember]
public string cacheUrl
{
get { return _cacheUrl; }
set { _cacheUrl = value; }
}
[DataMember]
public string title
{
get { return _title; }
set { _title = value; }
}
[DataMember]
public string titleNoFormatting
{
get { return _titleNoFormatting; }
set { _titleNoFormatting = value; }
}
[DataMember]
public string content
{
get { return _content; }
set { _content = value; }
}
}
The code currently compiles and runs perfectly, but isn't returning any results. Could someone help me with returning what I require, the results ready to print out to the screen?
Edit:
Json.NET works using the same JSON and classes as the example above.
GoogleSearchResults g1 = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<GoogleSearchResults>(json);
Link: Serializing and Deserializing JSON with Json.NET
Related
C# - parsing json formatted data into nested hashtables
Parse JSON array

[Update]
I've just realized why you weren't receiving results back... you have a missing line in your Deserialize method. You were forgetting to assign the results to your obj :
public static T Deserialize<T>(string json)
{
using (MemoryStream ms = new MemoryStream(Encoding.Unicode.GetBytes(json)))
{
DataContractJsonSerializer serializer = new DataContractJsonSerializer(typeof(T));
return (T)serializer.ReadObject(ms);
}
}
Also, just for reference, here is the Serialize method :
public static string Serialize<T>(T obj)
{
DataContractJsonSerializer serializer = new DataContractJsonSerializer(obj.GetType());
using (MemoryStream ms = new MemoryStream())
{
serializer.WriteObject(ms, obj);
return Encoding.Default.GetString(ms.ToArray());
}
}
Edit
If you want to use Json.NET here are the equivalent Serialize/Deserialize methods to the code above..
Deserialize:
JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<T>(string json);
Serialize:
JsonConvert.SerializeObject(object o);
This are already part of Json.NET so you can just call them on the JsonConvert class.
Link: Serializing and Deserializing JSON with Json.NET
Now, the reason you're getting a StackOverflow is because of your Properties.
Take for example this one :
[DataMember]
public string unescapedUrl
{
get { return unescapedUrl; } // <= this line is causing a Stack Overflow
set { this.unescapedUrl = value; }
}
Notice that in the getter, you are returning the actual property (ie the property's getter is calling itself over and over again), and thus you are creating an infinite recursion.
Properties (in 2.0) should be defined like such :
string _unescapedUrl; // <= private field
[DataMember]
public string unescapedUrl
{
get { return _unescapedUrl; }
set { _unescapedUrl = value; }
}
You have a private field and then you return the value of that field in the getter, and set the value of that field in the setter.
Btw, if you're using the 3.5 Framework, you can just do this and avoid the backing fields, and let the compiler take care of that :
public string unescapedUrl { get; set;}

I found this approach which parse JSON into a dynamic object, it extends a DynamicObject and JavascriptConverter to turn the string into an object.
DynamicJsonObject
public class DynamicJsonObject : DynamicObject
{
private IDictionary<string, object> Dictionary { get; set; }
public DynamicJsonObject(IDictionary<string, object> dictionary)
{
this.Dictionary = dictionary;
}
public override bool TryGetMember(GetMemberBinder binder, out object result)
{
result = this.Dictionary[binder.Name];
if (result is IDictionary<string, object>)
{
result = new DynamicJsonObject(result as IDictionary<string, object>);
}
else if (result is ArrayList && (result as ArrayList) is IDictionary<string, object>)
{
result = new List<DynamicJsonObject>((result as ArrayList).ToArray().Select(x => new DynamicJsonObject(x as IDictionary<string, object>)));
}
else if (result is ArrayList)
{
result = new List<object>((result as ArrayList).ToArray());
}
return this.Dictionary.ContainsKey(binder.Name);
}
}
Converter
public class DynamicJsonConverter : JavaScriptConverter
{
public override object Deserialize(IDictionary<string, object> dictionary, Type type, JavaScriptSerializer serializer)
{
if (dictionary == null)
throw new ArgumentNullException("dictionary");
if (type == typeof(object))
{
return new DynamicJsonObject(dictionary);
}
return null;
}
public override IDictionary<string, object> Serialize(object obj, JavaScriptSerializer serializer)
{
throw new NotImplementedException();
}
public override IEnumerable<Type> SupportedTypes
{
get { return new ReadOnlyCollection<Type>(new List<Type>(new Type[] { typeof(object) })); }
}
}
Usage (sample json):
JavaScriptSerializer jss = new JavaScriptSerializer();
jss.RegisterConverters(new JavaScriptConverter[] { new DynamicJsonConverter() });
dynamic glossaryEntry = jss.Deserialize(json, typeof(object)) as dynamic;
Console.WriteLine("glossaryEntry.glossary.title: " + glossaryEntry.glossary.title);
Console.WriteLine("glossaryEntry.glossary.GlossDiv.title: " + glossaryEntry.glossary.GlossDiv.title);
Console.WriteLine("glossaryEntry.glossary.GlossDiv.GlossList.GlossEntry.ID: " + glossaryEntry.glossary.GlossDiv.GlossList.GlossEntry.ID);
Console.WriteLine("glossaryEntry.glossary.GlossDiv.GlossList.GlossEntry.GlossDef.para: " + glossaryEntry.glossary.GlossDiv.GlossList.GlossEntry.GlossDef.para);
foreach (var also in glossaryEntry.glossary.GlossDiv.GlossList.GlossEntry.GlossDef.GlossSeeAlso)
{
Console.WriteLine("glossaryEntry.glossary.GlossDiv.GlossList.GlossEntry.GlossDef.GlossSeeAlso: " + also);
}
This method has to return true, otherwise it will throw an error. E.g. you can throw an error if a key does not exist.
Returning true and emptying result will return an empty value rather than throwing an error.
public override bool TryGetMember(GetMemberBinder binder, out object result)
{
if (!this.Dictionary.ContainsKey(binder.Name))
{
result = "";
}
else
{
result = this.Dictionary[binder.Name];
}
if (result is IDictionary<string, object>)
{
result = new DynamicJsonObject(result as IDictionary<string, object>);
}
else if (result is ArrayList && (result as ArrayList) is IDictionary<string, object>)
{
result = new List<DynamicJsonObject>((result as ArrayList).ToArray().Select(x => new DynamicJsonObject(x as IDictionary<string, object>)));
}
else if (result is ArrayList)
{
result = new List<object>((result as ArrayList).ToArray());
}
return true; // this.Dictionary.ContainsKey(binder.Name);
}

Your data class doesn't match the JSON object. Use this instead:
[DataContract]
public class GoogleSearchResults
{
[DataMember]
public ResponseData responseData { get; set; }
}
[DataContract]
public class ResponseData
{
[DataMember]
public IEnumerable<Results> results { get; set; }
}
[DataContract]
public class Results
{
[DataMember]
public string unescapedUrl { get; set; }
[DataMember]
public string url { get; set; }
[DataMember]
public string visibleUrl { get; set; }
[DataMember]
public string cacheUrl { get; set; }
[DataMember]
public string title { get; set; }
[DataMember]
public string titleNoFormatting { get; set; }
[DataMember]
public string content { get; set; }
}
Also, you don't have to instantiate the class to get its type for deserialization:
public static T Deserialise<T>(string json)
{
using (var ms = new MemoryStream(Encoding.Unicode.GetBytes(json)))
{
var serialiser = new DataContractJsonSerializer(typeof(T));
return (T)serialiser.ReadObject(ms);
}
}

I just think the whole example would be useful. This is the example for this problem.
using System;
using System.Data;
using System.Configuration;
using System.Web;
using System.Web.Security;
using System.Web.UI;
using System.Web.UI.WebControls;
using System.Web.UI.WebControls.WebParts;
using System.Web.UI.HtmlControls;
using System.ServiceModel.Web;
using System.Runtime.Serialization;
using System.Runtime.Serialization.Json;
using System.IO;
using System.Text;
using System.Collections.Generic;
public partial class _Default : System.Web.UI.Page
{
protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
GoogleSearchResults g1 = new GoogleSearchResults();
const string json = #"{""responseData"": {""results"":[{""GsearchResultClass"":""GwebSearch"",""unescapedUrl"":""http://www.cheese.com/"",""url"":""http://www.cheese.com/"",""visibleUrl"":""www.cheese.com"",""cacheUrl"":""http://www.google.com/search?q\u003dcache:bkg1gwNt8u4J:www.cheese.com"",""title"":""\u003cb\u003eCHEESE\u003c/b\u003e.COM - All about \u003cb\u003echeese\u003c/b\u003e!."",""titleNoFormatting"":""CHEESE.COM - All about cheese!."",""content"":""\u003cb\u003eCheese\u003c/b\u003e - everything you want to know about it. Search \u003cb\u003echeese\u003c/b\u003e by name, by types of milk, by textures and by countries.""},{""GsearchResultClass"":""GwebSearch"",""unescapedUrl"":""http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheese"",""url"":""http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheese"",""visibleUrl"":""en.wikipedia.org"",""cacheUrl"":""http://www.google.com/search?q\u003dcache:n9icdgMlCXIJ:en.wikipedia.org"",""title"":""\u003cb\u003eCheese\u003c/b\u003e - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia"",""titleNoFormatting"":""Cheese - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia"",""content"":""\u003cb\u003eCheese\u003c/b\u003e is a food consisting of proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. It is produced by coagulation of the milk \u003cb\u003e...\u003c/b\u003e""},{""GsearchResultClass"":""GwebSearch"",""unescapedUrl"":""http://www.ilovecheese.com/"",""url"":""http://www.ilovecheese.com/"",""visibleUrl"":""www.ilovecheese.com"",""cacheUrl"":""http://www.google.com/search?q\u003dcache:GBhRR8ytMhQJ:www.ilovecheese.com"",""title"":""I Love \u003cb\u003eCheese\u003c/b\u003e!, Homepage"",""titleNoFormatting"":""I Love Cheese!, Homepage"",""content"":""The American Dairy Association\u0026#39;s official site includes recipes and information on nutrition and storage of \u003cb\u003echeese\u003c/b\u003e.""},{""GsearchResultClass"":""GwebSearch"",""unescapedUrl"":""http://www.gnome.org/projects/cheese/"",""url"":""http://www.gnome.org/projects/cheese/"",""visibleUrl"":""www.gnome.org"",""cacheUrl"":""http://www.google.com/search?q\u003dcache:jvfWnVcSFeQJ:www.gnome.org"",""title"":""\u003cb\u003eCheese\u003c/b\u003e"",""titleNoFormatting"":""Cheese"",""content"":""\u003cb\u003eCheese\u003c/b\u003e uses your webcam to take photos and videos, applies fancy special effects and lets you share the fun with others. It was written as part of Google\u0026#39;s \u003cb\u003e...\u003c/b\u003e""}],""cursor"":{""pages"":[{""start"":""0"",""label"":1},{""start"":""4"",""label"":2},{""start"":""8"",""label"":3},{""start"":""12"",""label"":4},{""start"":""16"",""label"":5},{""start"":""20"",""label"":6},{""start"":""24"",""label"":7},{""start"":""28"",""label"":8}],""estimatedResultCount"":""14400000"",""currentPageIndex"":0,""moreResultsUrl"":""http://www.google.com/search?oe\u003dutf8\u0026ie\u003dutf8\u0026source\u003duds\u0026start\u003d0\u0026hl\u003den-GB\u0026q\u003dcheese""}}, ""responseDetails"": null, ""responseStatus"": 200}";
g1 = JSONHelper.Deserialise<GoogleSearchResults>(json);
foreach (Pages x in g1.responseData.cursor.pages)
{
// Anything you want to get
Response.Write(x.label);
}
}
}
public class JSONHelper
{
public static T Deserialise<T>(string json)
{
using (var ms = new MemoryStream(Encoding.Unicode.GetBytes(json)))
{
var serialiser = new DataContractJsonSerializer(typeof(T));
return (T)serialiser.ReadObject(ms);
}
}
public static string Serialize<T>(T obj)
{
DataContractJsonSerializer serializer = new DataContractJsonSerializer(obj.GetType());
using (MemoryStream ms = new MemoryStream())
{
serializer.WriteObject(ms, obj);
return Encoding.Default.GetString(ms.ToArray());
}
}
}
[DataContract]
public class GoogleSearchResults
{
[DataMember]
public ResponseData responseData { get; set; }
[DataMember]
public string responseStatus { get; set; }
}
public class ResponseData
{
[DataMember]
public Cursor cursor { get; set; }
[DataMember]
public IEnumerable<Results> results { get; set; }
}
[DataContract]
public class Cursor
{
[DataMember]
public IEnumerable<Pages> pages { get; set; }
}
[DataContract]
public class Pages
{
[DataMember]
public string start { get; set; }
[DataMember]
public string label { get; set; }
}
[DataContract]
public class Results
{
[DataMember]
public string unescapedUrl { get; set; }
[DataMember]
public string url { get; set; }
[DataMember]
public string visibleUrl { get; set; }
[DataMember]
public string cacheUrl { get; set; }
[DataMember]
public string title { get; set; }
[DataMember]
public string titleNoFormatting { get; set; }
[DataMember]
public string content { get; set; }
}

I tried to use the code above but didn't work. The JSON structure returned by Google is so different and there is a very important miss in the helper function: a call to DataContractJsonSerializer.ReadObject() that actually deserializes the JSON data into the object.
Here is the code that WORKS in 2011:
using System;
using System.Runtime.Serialization;
using System.Runtime.Serialization.Json;
using System.IO;
using System.Text;
using System.Collections.Generic;
namespace <YOUR_NAMESPACE>
{
public class JSONHelper
{
public static T Deserialise<T>(string json)
{
T obj = Activator.CreateInstance<T>();
MemoryStream ms = new MemoryStream(Encoding.Unicode.GetBytes(json));
DataContractJsonSerializer serialiser = new DataContractJsonSerializer(obj.GetType());
obj = (T)serialiser.ReadObject(ms);
ms.Close();
return obj;
}
}
public class Result
{
public string GsearchResultClass { get; set; }
public string unescapedUrl { get; set; }
public string url { get; set; }
public string visibleUrl { get; set; }
public string cacheUrl { get; set; }
public string title { get; set; }
public string titleNoFormatting { get; set; }
public string content { get; set; }
}
public class Page
{
public string start { get; set; }
public int label { get; set; }
}
public class Cursor
{
public string resultCount { get; set; }
public Page[] pages { get; set; }
public string estimatedResultCount { get; set; }
public int currentPageIndex { get; set; }
public string moreResultsUrl { get; set; }
public string searchResultTime { get; set; }
}
public class ResponseData
{
public Result[] results { get; set; }
public Cursor cursor { get; set; }
}
public class GoogleSearchResults
{
public ResponseData responseData { get; set; }
public object responseDetails { get; set; }
public int responseStatus { get; set; }
}
}
To get the content of the first result, do:
GoogleSearchResults googleResults = new GoogleSearchResults();
googleResults = JSONHelper.Deserialise<GoogleSearchResults>(jsonData);
string contentOfFirstResult = googleResults.responseData.results[0].content;

Thank you all for your help.
This is my final version, and it works thanks to your combined help !
I am only showing the changes i made, all the rest is taken from Joe Chung's work
public class GoogleSearchResults
{
[DataMember]
public ResponseData responseData { get; set; }
[DataMember]
public string responseDetails { get; set; }
[DataMember]
public int responseStatus { get; set; }
}
and
[DataContract]
public class ResponseData
{
[DataMember]
public List<Results> results { get; set; }
}

Google Map API request and parse DirectionsResponse with C#, change the json in your url to xml
and use the following code to turn the result into a usable C# Generic List Object.
Took me a while to make. But here it is
var url = String.Format("http://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/directions/xml?...");
var result = new System.Net.WebClient().DownloadString(url);
var doc = XDocument.Load(new StringReader(result));
var DirectionsResponse = doc.Elements("DirectionsResponse").Select(l => new
{
Status = l.Elements("status").Select(q => q.Value).FirstOrDefault(),
Route = l.Descendants("route").Select(n => new
{
Summary = n.Elements("summary").Select(q => q.Value).FirstOrDefault(),
Leg = n.Elements("leg").ToList().Select(o => new
{
Step = o.Elements("step").Select(p => new
{
Travel_Mode = p.Elements("travel_mode").Select(q => q.Value).FirstOrDefault(),
Start_Location = p.Elements("start_location").Select(q => new
{
Lat = q.Elements("lat").Select(r => r.Value).FirstOrDefault(),
Lng = q.Elements("lng").Select(r => r.Value).FirstOrDefault()
}).FirstOrDefault(),
End_Location = p.Elements("end_location").Select(q => new
{
Lat = q.Elements("lat").Select(r => r.Value).FirstOrDefault(),
Lng = q.Elements("lng").Select(r => r.Value).FirstOrDefault()
}).FirstOrDefault(),
Polyline = p.Elements("polyline").Select(q => new
{
Points = q.Elements("points").Select(r => r.Value).FirstOrDefault()
}).FirstOrDefault(),
Duration = p.Elements("duration").Select(q => new
{
Value = q.Elements("value").Select(r => r.Value).FirstOrDefault(),
Text = q.Elements("text").Select(r => r.Value).FirstOrDefault(),
}).FirstOrDefault(),
Html_Instructions = p.Elements("html_instructions").Select(q => q.Value).FirstOrDefault(),
Distance = p.Elements("distance").Select(q => new
{
Value = q.Elements("value").Select(r => r.Value).FirstOrDefault(),
Text = q.Elements("text").Select(r => r.Value).FirstOrDefault(),
}).FirstOrDefault()
}).ToList(),
Duration = o.Elements("duration").Select(p => new
{
Value = p.Elements("value").Select(q => q.Value).FirstOrDefault(),
Text = p.Elements("text").Select(q => q.Value).FirstOrDefault()
}).FirstOrDefault(),
Distance = o.Elements("distance").Select(p => new
{
Value = p.Elements("value").Select(q => q.Value).FirstOrDefault(),
Text = p.Elements("text").Select(q => q.Value).FirstOrDefault()
}).FirstOrDefault(),
Start_Location = o.Elements("start_location").Select(p => new
{
Lat = p.Elements("lat").Select(q => q.Value).FirstOrDefault(),
Lng = p.Elements("lng").Select(q => q.Value).FirstOrDefault()
}).FirstOrDefault(),
End_Location = o.Elements("end_location").Select(p => new
{
Lat = p.Elements("lat").Select(q => q.Value).FirstOrDefault(),
Lng = p.Elements("lng").Select(q => q.Value).FirstOrDefault()
}).FirstOrDefault(),
Start_Address = o.Elements("start_address").Select(q => q.Value).FirstOrDefault(),
End_Address = o.Elements("end_address").Select(q => q.Value).FirstOrDefault()
}).ToList(),
Copyrights = n.Elements("copyrights").Select(q => q.Value).FirstOrDefault(),
Overview_polyline = n.Elements("overview_polyline").Select(q => new
{
Points = q.Elements("points").Select(r => r.Value).FirstOrDefault()
}).FirstOrDefault(),
Waypoint_Index = n.Elements("waypoint_index").Select(o => o.Value).ToList(),
Bounds = n.Elements("bounds").Select(q => new
{
SouthWest = q.Elements("southwest").Select(r => new
{
Lat = r.Elements("lat").Select(s => s.Value).FirstOrDefault(),
Lng = r.Elements("lng").Select(s => s.Value).FirstOrDefault()
}).FirstOrDefault(),
NorthEast = q.Elements("northeast").Select(r => new
{
Lat = r.Elements("lat").Select(s => s.Value).FirstOrDefault(),
Lng = r.Elements("lng").Select(s => s.Value).FirstOrDefault()
}).FirstOrDefault(),
}).FirstOrDefault()
}).FirstOrDefault()
}).FirstOrDefault();
I hope this will help someone.