Creating a dictionary with string,string, string,int and string,object - c#

I am just getting started with C# and I'm a little stuck.
How do I create a dictionary that contains a mix of string,string, string,int, and string,object?
this is what it would look like:
var values = new Dictionary<????>
{
"key0":
{
"key1": "stringValue1",
"key2": "stringValue2",
"key3": "stringValue3",
"key4": 10000
},
"key5": "stringValue4",
"key6": "stringValue5"
};
I am using this as the body for a POST request. Sample code from here
var body = new FormUrlEncodedContent(values);
var url = "http://url.com/endpoint"
var resp = await client.PostAsync(url, body);
var respString = await response.Content.ReadAsStringAsync();

This is what you said in your comment:
please note that I come from a JavaScript background where you can do whatever you want with a dictionary.
Yes you can do that in JavaScript but you need to learn and understand that C# is a strongly typed language. That does not mean you have to be strong to type it, but it means the types are known at compile time (mostly). Please read into that.
Anyhow, to do what you want to do, you can do it with a Dictionary but it will not be pretty and your fellow C# developers will not be happy with you. So how about you give your keys and values some context by creating a class (OOP). Something like below:
public class Rootobject // Give it a better name
{
public Key0 key0 { get; set; }
public string key5 { get; set; }
public string key6 { get; set; }
}
public class Key0
{
public string key1 { get; set; }
public string key2 { get; set; }
public string key3 { get; set; }
public int key4 { get; set; }
}
Now you have your class so you can create one or more instances of it:
var ro = new Rootobject();
ro.key5 = "stringValue4";
ro.key6 = "stringValue5";
var key0 = new Key0();
key0.key1 = "stringValue1";
key0.key2 = "stringValue2";
key0.key3 = "stringValue3";
key0.key4 = 1000; // See we cannot put a string here. Different than JavaScript
ro.key0 = key0;
Now you want to POST this and send it over the wire so you need to serialize it. But in your case you need to serialize it to JSON. Therefore, get NewtonSoft so it can do all the heavy lifting for you--again not saying you are not strong. Then all you need to do is this:
var json = JsonConvert.SerializeObject(ro);
Now json will be exactly like this and you can POST it to wherever:
{
"key0": {
"key1": "stringValue1",
"key2": "stringValue2",
"key3": "stringValue3",
"key4": 1000
},
"key5": "stringValue4",
"key6": "stringValue5"
}
How did I create the class?
The class above named RootObject, you can either create it manually or ask Visual Studio to do it for you. I am lazy so I asked Visual Studio to do it. If you are lazy then see my answer here.

Check this link:
HttpClient PostAsJsonAsync request
You can cast it as
var myData = await response.Content.PostAsJsonAsync<Dictionary<string, dynamic>>(...);
Then you can use it as:
string myStr = myData["key5"];
Although I would recommend you make a class with the structure and use the class name within <>
Sample class:
class MyData {
public MyData2 key0 { get; set; }
public string key5 { get; set; }
public string key6 { get; set; }
}
class MyData2 {
public string key1 { get; set; }
public string key2 { get; set; }
public string key3 { get; set; }
public int key4 { get; set; }
}
Now you can use this as:
var myData = await response.Content.PostAsJsonAsync<MyData>(...);

You can use dynamic. However, in the end, form post will convert everything into string, so you might wanna convert int and object into string first. Then, you can just use Dictionary<string, string>
Dictionary<string, dynamic> Dict = new Dictionary<string, dynamic>();
Dict.Add("string1", "1");
Dict.Add("string2", 2);
Dict.Add("string3", new object());

Related

Access JSON keys in C# from ServiceNow Rest API

I am calling the ServiceNow Incidents table and pulling back one incident like this. https://mydevInstance.service-now.com/api/now/v1/table/incident?sysparm_limit=1
var client = new RestClient("https://mydevInstance.service-now.com/api/now/v1/table/incident?sysparm_limit=1");
client.Timeout = -1;
var request = new RestRequest(Method.GET);
request.AddHeader("Authorization", "Basic myAuthKey");
IRestResponse response = client.Execute(request);
The JSON it returns in RESTSharp looks like this.
{
"result": [
{
"parent": "",
"made_sla": "true",
"caused_by": "",
"watch_list": "",
"upon_reject": "cancel",
"resolved_by": {
"link": "https://mydevInstance.service-now.com/api/now/v1/table/sys_user/5137153cc611227c000bbd1bd8cd2007",
"value": "5137153cc611227c000bbd1bd8cd2007"
},
"approval_history": "",
"number": "INC0000060"
}
]
}
How do I create a C# list or array of all the Keys under result? I can't Serialize the object with JSON.Net because additional keys can be added over time.
You need to grab the sample of the JSON content, then make a C# class using the 'Paste Special' option I described.
Then you can use the JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<T> (in a nuget package by Newtonsoft) to deserialize your web service response in a C# object instance.
Here are the C# classes I generated with your JSON object unaltered:
public class Rootobject
{
public Result[] result { get; set; }
}
public class Result
{
public string parent { get; set; }
public string made_sla { get; set; }
public string caused_by { get; set; }
public string watch_list { get; set; }
public string upon_reject { get; set; }
public Resolved_By resolved_by { get; set; }
public string approval_history { get; set; }
public string number { get; set; }
}
public class Resolved_By
{
public string link { get; set; }
public string value { get; set; }
}
You use this type like this:
var json = "t-b-d"; // From Web Service call
Rootobject response = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<Rootobject>(json);
// use the response object.
** UPDATED **
If you need a more flexible model, all JSON will deserialize into Dictionary<string, string>, but I have found that serialization / deserialization results are more reliable when the model is consistent
var response = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<Dictionary<string,string>>(json);
Here is what does work using System.Text.Json
var incidentFields = new List<string>();
var doc = JsonDocument.Parse(json);
foreach (var o in doc.RootElement.GetProperty("result").EnumerateArray())
{
foreach (var p in o.EnumerateObject())
{
incidentFields.Add(p.Name.ToString());
}
}
I created a library that handles that by default. (You can add custom types also)
https://autodati.github.io/ServiceNow.Core/

Deserialize Json an access the result

I have this Json:
{
"UpdatePack":"updatePacks\/1585654836.pack",
"Updates":[
{
"Name":"MsgBoxEx",
"version":"1.5.14.88",
"ChangeLog":"BugFix: Form didn't resize correct.",
"Hash":"5FB23ED83693A6D3147A0485CD13288315F77D3D37AAC0697E70B8F8C9AA0BB8"
},
{
"Name":"Utilities",
"version":"2.5.1.58",
"ChangeLog":"StringManagement updated.",
"Hash":"05E6B3F521225C604662916F50A701E9783E13776DE4FCA27BE4B69705491AC5"
}
]
}
I have created 2 classes to be used to Deserialize it.
class UpdatesList
{
public string Name { get; set; }
public string Version { get; set; }
public string ChangeLog { get; set; }
public string Hash { get; set; }
}
class JsonObjectHolder
{
public string UpdatePack { get; set; }
//public Dictionary<int, MyData> { get; set; }
public Dictionary<int, UpdatesList> Updates { get; set; }
}
But when I try to access the dictionary, I keep getting Unhandled Exception: System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object. at " Console.WriteLine(jsonTest.Dict.Count);"
Am I Deserializing it wrong, or do I need to do some thing else to access the result of the dictionary?
I'm new to both C# and Json.
I hope that some one could point me in the right direction on how to handle this.
I'm using Visual Studio 2019 latest update, and .net 4.8.
Regards
/LR
You code doesn't work because 0 and 1 tokens just a properties, not the array items (you don't have square brackets [] around them). You can parse these values to desired structure manually using JObject
var json = JObject.Parse(your_json_string);
var dict = new Dictionary<int, UpdatesList>();
foreach (var item in json.Properties())
{
if (item.Value.Type == JTokenType.Object)
{
var index = int.Parse(item.Name);
var updateList = item.Value.ToObject<UpdatesList>();
dict.Add(index, updateList);
}
}
var holder = new JsonObjectHolder
{
UpdatePack = json["Updates"]?.Value<string>(),
Dict = dict
};
Update: According to OP changes made to JSON it might be deserialized even more simply
var list = json["Updates"]?.ToObject<List<UpdatesList>>();
var holder = new JsonObjectHolder
{
UpdatePack = json["UpdatePack"]?.Value<string>(),
Dict = list.Select((updatesList, index) => new { updatesList, index })
.ToDictionary(x => x.index, x => x.updatesList)
};
The main point here is that Updates is an array of items, not the key-value collection. It can be transformed into Dictionary<int, UpdatesList> using ToDictionary method from System.Linq (or just use List<UpdatesList> as is)
The exception you're getting essentially means the value is being accessed before the object is initialized.
A better, simpler and cleaner way to doing it is using NewtonSoft. (you can easily get it as a Nuget package)
example:
public class Account
{
public string Email { get; set; }
public bool Active { get; set; }
public DateTime CreatedDate { get; set; }
public IList<string> Roles { get; set; }
}
and then usage:
string json = #"{
'Email': 'james#example.com',
'Active': true,
'CreatedDate': '2013-01-20T00:00:00Z',
'Roles': [
'User',
'Admin'
]
}";
Account account = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<Account>(json);
Console.WriteLine(account.Email);
Source: https://www.newtonsoft.com/json/help/html/DeserializeObject.htm
I don't see why you need Dictionary<int, UpdatesList> Updates, when you can easily just use List<Update> Updates, since your updates are in a JSON array.
I would model your classes like this:
public class Update
{
public string Name { get; set; }
public string Version { get; set; }
public string ChangeLog { get; set; }
public string Hash { get; set; }
}
public class RootObject
{
public string UpdatePack { get; set; }
public List<Update> Updates { get; set; }
}
You can then deserialize with:
JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<RootObject>(json);
Try it out on dotnetfiddle.net
Note: To convert JSON to C# classes, you can go to Edit -> Paste Special -> Paste JSON as Classes inside Visual Studio. Make sure you have copied the JSON to your clipboard before using it. You will get classes similar to above.
your data and the class is not compatible. if you change the string like this it would work.
change "Updates" to "UpdatePack" and add "Dict" around the dictionary items.
{
"UpdatePack":"updates\/4D1D7964D5B88E5867324F575B77D2FA.zip",
"Dict":{
"0":{
"Name":"MsgBoxEx",
"Version":"1.0.123.58",
"ChangeLog":"Bugfix:Form didn't resize correct",
"hash":"AA94556C0D2C8C73DD217974D252AF3311A5BF52819B06D179D17672F21049A6"
},
"1":{
"Name":"Utilities",
"Version":"1.5.321.87",
"ChangeLog":"StringManagement updated",
"hash":"2F561B02A49376E3679ACD5975E3790ABDFF09ECBADFA1E1858C7BA26E3FFCEF"
}
}
}

how to pull out array of string values from a deserialized JSON response

I am pretty new to coding and here is my requirement:
I am getting a JSON response which has an array of values (refer read,update,delete in the below JSON response)
The number of values is dynamic and tend to vary each time.
I want to know how to retrieve them and put into an string array and return the values
Eg.: end result should be like
string[] deleteValues = {"MCS:Menu:Admin","MCS:test"}
In case if there is answer already available to this question, please point me in the right direction.
Thanks in advance
==========================================
I am able to get the values this way...
string value1 = new JavaScriptSerializer().Deserialize<JSON_Deconstructor>(resp).Permitted[0].Delete[0].ToString();
string value2 = new JavaScriptSerializer().Deserialize<JSON_Deconstructor>(resp).Permitted[0].Delete[1].ToString();
but since the number of values in delete is dynamic, i need to how to pull them.
====================
the code snippet:
string resp = new StreamReader(request1.GetResponse().GetResponseStream()).ReadToEnd(); // resp is a JSON response from a server
JSON_Deconstructor dc = new JSON_Deconstructor { };
dc.Permitted = new Permitted[1];
string value1 = new JavaScriptSerializer().Deserialize<JSON_Deconstructor>(resp).Permitted[0].Delete[0].ToString();
string value2 = new JavaScriptSerializer().Deserialize<JSON_Deconstructor>(resp).Permitted[0].Delete[1].ToString();
==================
JSON_Deconstructor class contents:
public class JSON_Deconstructor
{
public Permitted[] Permitted { get; set; }
public Denied[] Denied { get; set; }
}
==================
Permitted class contents:
public class Permitted
{
public string[] Read { get; set; }
public string[] Update { get; set; }
public string[] Delete { get; set; }
}
=================
JSON response:
{
"Permitted": [
{
"read": [
"MCS:Menu:Admin"
],
"update": [
"MCS:test"
],
"delete": [
"MCS:Menu:Admin",
"MCS:test"
]
}
]
}
First add jsonProperty to your class in order to be able to serialize.
public class Permitted
{
[JsonProperty("read")]
public string[] Read { get; set; }
[JsonProperty("update")]
public string[] Update { get; set; }
[JsonProperty("delete")]
public string[] Delete { get; set; }
}
//Response contains a list of permitted objects in Permitted property
public class PermittedResponse
{
public List<Permitted> Permitted { get; set; }
}
then in you method de serialize your response and loop through results to build your arrays.
List<string> deletedValues = new List<string>();
List<string> readValues = new List<string>();
List<string> updateValues = new List<string>();
PermittedResponse response = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<PermittedResponse>(serializedJson);
response.Permitted.ForEach(e =>
{
deletedValues = deletedValues.Concat(e.Delete).ToList();
readValues = readValues.Concat(e.Read).ToList();
updateValues = updateValues.Concat(e.Update ).ToList();
});
Use Newtonsoft.Json. You can get it from NuGet. This is very simple and powerful library for Json.
Now, you should create a class, like:
public class Item
{
public List<string> MCS { get; set; } = new List<string>();
}
public class PermitedItem
{
public Item read {get; set;}
public Item update {get; set;}
public Item delete {get; set;}
}
public class MyResponse
{
public List<PermittedItem> Permitted = new List<PermittedItems>();
}
And then you use it like that:
MyResponse result = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<MyResponse>(jsonAsString);
This should work.

Issue with Deserialization with JSON with C#

I have looked over example after example after example and none of my attempts have worked.
I'm attempting to deserialize this JSON return:
{
"status": "success",
"data": {
"result": "match",
"id_user": 26564,
"dob_match": null,
"first_name_match": null,
"last_name_match": null
},
"code": 200
}
Here is my JSON object class declaration:
[DataContract]
internal class DccCoachApi
{
[DataMember]
public string result { get; set; }
public string id_user { get; set; }
public string dob_match { get; set; }
public string first_name_match { get; set; }
public string last_name_match { get; set; }
}
In my stream method, my streamRead variable is filled with:
{"status":"success","data":{"result":"match","id_user":26564,"dob_match":null,"first_name_match":null,"last_name_match":null},"code":200}
Method 1 does not populate coachId:
using (var ms = new MemoryStream(Encoding.Unicode.GetBytes(streamRead)))
{
// Deserialization from JSON
var deserializer = new DataContractJsonSerializer(typeof(DccCoachApi));
var dccObj = (DccCoachApi)deserializer.ReadObject(ms);
coachId = dccObj.id_user;
}
Nor does method 2:
DccCoachApi coach = new JavaScriptSerializer().Deserialize<DccCoachApi>(streamRead);
coachId = coach.id_user;
nor does method 3:
JavaScriptSerializer js = new JavaScriptSerializer();
DccCoachApi dccObj = js.Deserialize<DccCoachApi>(streamRead);
coachId = dccObj.id_user;
nor does method 4:
dynamic dccObject = js.Deserialize<dynamic>(streamRead);
coachId = dccObject["id_user"];
The hard error that gets produced when i pull the value directly off method 4 is:
System.Collections.Generic.KeyNotFoundException: The given key was not present in the dictionary. at System.Collections.Generic.Dictionary`2.get_Item(TKey key)
Methods 1-3 do not hit a hard error, however they populate coachId with no data.
Can somebody please let me know what i'm doing wrong?
You can simply generate proper classes here: http://json2csharp.com/
This is how it should look like you don't need the DataMember Attributes, it might confuse the serializer to only de-serialize this single property:
public class Data
{
public string result { get; set; }
public int id_user { get; set; }
public object dob_match { get; set; }
public object first_name_match { get; set; }
public object last_name_match { get; set; }
}
public class RootObject
{
public string status { get; set; }
public Data data { get; set; }
public int code { get; set; }
}
Code:
var deserializer = DataContractJsonSerializer(typeof(RootObject));
var root = (RootObject)deserializer.ReadObject(ms);
var coachId = root.data.id_user;
I revised the code to look like this, and it is dumping my value perfectly. Thanks much to everyone who helped me reach the solution. Plutonix, thanks as well for the paste special 411. I had no idea that existed. VERY useful!
using (var reader = new StreamReader(webResponse.GetResponseStream()))
{
var streamRead = reader.ReadToEnd();
reader.Close();
using (var ms = new MemoryStream(Encoding.Unicode.GetBytes(streamRead)))
{
JavaScriptSerializer js = new JavaScriptSerializer();
DccCoachRootobject dccObj = js.Deserialize<DccCoachRootobject>(streamRead);
coachId = dccObj.data.id_user.ToString();
}
}

Deserialize JSON string into a list for dropdownlist in C#

I have a windows form application and would like to deserialize a JSON string that I'm getting from a web address so that I can get just two values from it, how would I go about doing this?
Below is the code I have to get the JSON string, and if you go to the URL that it's getting, you can also see the JSON string. I want to just get the item name, and current price of it. Which you can see the price under the current key.
private void GrabPrices()
{
using (WebClient webClient = new System.Net.WebClient())
{
WebClient n = new WebClient();
var json = n.DownloadString("http://services.runescape.com/m=itemdb_rs/api/catalogue/detail.json?item=1513");
string valueOriginal = Convert.ToString(json);
Console.WriteLine(json);
}
}
It's also going to be iterating through a SQLite database and getting the same data for multiple items based on the item ID, which I'll be able to do myself.
EDIT I'd like to use JSON.Net if possible, I've been trying to use it and it seems easy enough, but I'm still having trouble.
Okay so first of all you need to know your JSON structure, sample:
[{
name: "Micheal",
age: 20
},
{
name: "Bob",
age: 24
}]
With this information you can derive a C# object
public class Person
{
public string Name {get;set;}
public int Age {get;set;}
}
Now you can use JSON.NET to deserialize your JSON into C#:
var people = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<List<Person>>(jsonString);
If you look at the original JSON it is an array of objects, to deal with this I have used List<T>.
Key things to remember, you need to have the C# object mirror in properties that of the JSON object. If you don't have a list, then you don't need List<T>.
If your JSON objects have camel casing, and you want this converted to the C# conventions, then use this:
var people = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<List<Person>>(
jsonString,
new JsonSerializerSettings { ContractResolver = new CamelCasePropertyNamesContractResolver() });
First of all you need to create a class structure for the JSON
public class Wrapper
{
public Item item;
}
public class Item
{
public string icon { get; set; }
public string icon_large { get; set; }
public int id { get; set; }
public string type { get; set; }
public string typeIcon { get; set; }
public string name { get; set; }
public string description { get; set; }
public GrandExchange current { get; set; }
public GrandExchange today { get; set; }
public bool members { get; set; }
public GrandExchange day30 { get; set; }
public GrandExchange day90 { get; set; }
public GrandExchange day180 { get; set; }
}
public class GrandExchange
{
public string trend { get; set; }
public string price { get; set; }
}
Then you need to serialize the current item into a Wrapper class
var wrapper = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<Wrapper>(json);
Then if you want multiple items in a list, you can do so with this code :
// Items to find
int[] itemIds = {1513, 1514, 1515, 1516, 1517};
// Create blank list
List<Item> items = new List<Item>();
foreach (int id in itemIds)
{
var n = new WebClient();
// Get JSON
var json = n.DownloadString(String.Format("http://services.runescape.com/m=itemdb_rs/api/catalogue/detail.json?item={0}", id));
// Parse to Item object
var wrapper = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<Wrapper>(json);
// Append to list
items.Add(wrapper.item);
}
// Do something with list
It is also worth noting that Jagex limit how many times this API can be called from a certain IP within a time frame, going over that limit will block your IP for a certain amount of time. (Will try and find a reference for this)

Categories