We Keep Coding

Converting JSON array

I am attempting to use the Newtonsoft JSON library to parse a JSON string dynamically using C#. In the JSON is a named array. I would like to remove the square brackets from this array and then write out the modified JSON.
The JSON now looks like the following. I would like to remove the square bracket from the ProductDescription array.
{
"Product": "123",
"to_Description": [
{
"ProductDescription": "Product 1"
}
]
}
Desired result
{
"Product": "123",
"to_Description":
{
"ProductDescription": "Product 1"
}
}
I believe I can use the code below to parse the JSON. I just need some help with making the modification.
JObject o1 = JObject.Parse(File.ReadAllText(#"output.json"));

The to_Description property starts off as List<Dictionary<string,string>> and you want to take the first element from the List.
So, given 2 classes
public class Source
{
public string Product {get;set;}
public List<Dictionary<string,string>> To_Description{get;set;}
}
public class Destination
{
public string Product {get;set;}
public Dictionary<string,string> To_Description{get;set;}
}
You could do it like this:
var src = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<Source>(jsonString);
var dest = new Destination
{
Product = src.Product,
To_Description = src.To_Description[0]
};
var newJson = JsonConvert.SerializeObject(dest);
Note: You might want to check there really is just 1 item in the list!
Live example: https://dotnetfiddle.net/vxqumd

You do not need to create classes for this task. You can modify your object like this:
// Load the JSON from a file into a JObject
JObject o1 = JObject.Parse(File.ReadAllText(#"output.json"));
// Get the desired property whose value is to be replaced
var prop = o1.Property("to_Description");
// Replace the property value with the first child JObject of the existing value
prop.Value = prop.Value.Children<JObject>().FirstOrDefault();
// write the changed JSON back to the original file
File.WriteAllText(#"output.json", o1.ToString());
Fiddle: https://dotnetfiddle.net/M83zv3

I have used json2csharp to convert the actual and desired output to classes and manipulated the input json.. this will help in the maintenance in future
First defined the model
public class ToDescription
{
public string ProductDescription { get; set; }
}
public class ActualObject
{
public string Product { get; set; }
public List<ToDescription> to_Description { get; set; }
}
public class ChangedObject
{
public string Product { get; set; }
public ToDescription to_Description { get; set; }
}
Inject the logic
static void Main(string[] args)
{
string json = "{\"Product\": \"123\", \"to_Description\": [ { \"ProductDescription\": \"Product 1\" } ]} ";
ActualObject actualObject = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<ActualObject>(json);
ChangedObject changedObject = new ChangedObject();
changedObject.Product = actualObject.Product;
changedObject.to_Description = actualObject.to_Description[0];
string formattedjson = JsonConvert.SerializeObject(changedObject);
Console.WriteLine(formattedjson);
}

Why not:
public class EntityDescription
{
public string ProductDescription { get; set; }
}
public class Entity
{
public string Product { get; set; }
}
public class Source : Entity
{
[JsonProperty("to_Description")]
public EntityDescription[] Description { get; set; }
}
public class Target : Entity
{
[JsonProperty("to_Description")]
public EntityDescription Description { get; set; }
}
var raw = File.ReadAllText(#"output.json");
var source = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<Source>(raw);
var target = new Target { Product = source.Product, Description = source.Description.FirstOrDefault() };
var rawResult = JsonConvert.SerializeObject(target);
Update For dynamic JSON
var jObject = JObject.Parse(File.ReadAllText(#"output.json"));
var newjObject = new JObject();
foreach(var jToken in jObject) {
if(jToken.Value is JArray) {
List<JToken> l = jToken.Value.ToObject<List<JToken>>();
if(l != null && l.Count > 0) {
newjObject.Add(jToken.Key, l.First());
}
} else {
newjObject.Add(jToken.Key, jToken.Value);
}
}
var newTxt = newjObject.ToString();

Validate values in key value pair in a JSON

I need to validate a JSON against the available format. The sample JSON is as follows:
{
"sno": "1",
"project_name": "Abcd",
"contributors": [
{
"contributor_id": "1",
"contributor_name": "Ron"
},
{
"contributor_id": "2",
"contributor_name": "Dan"
}
],
"office": [ "Vegas", "New York" ]
}
In the above example, I need to validate the JSON as follows:
The value for sno must be a string.
The value for office must be a valid array.
The value for contrbutors must be a valid array with valid JSONs as members.
How can I parse the JSON and check if all the keys have valid values according to the above mentioned criteria?

You need object like this:
public class MyObject
{
public string sno { get; set; }
public string project_name { get; set; }
public List<Contrbutor> contrbutors { get; set; }
public List<string> office { get; set; }
}
public class Contrbutor
{
public string contributor_id { get; set; }
public string contributor_name { get; set; }
}
Pars it via JsonConvert
try
{
MyObject desObject = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<MyObject>(yourJsonStringHere);
}
catch(Exception ex)
{
//IF PARSE IS NOT SUCCESSFUL CATCH THE PARSE EX HERE
}
and if Parse is successful than validate "desObject" values.

You can build your custom function to check the data type of value of respective key in your json.
1) Parse your json to JObject
2) Map this JObject to your SampleClass.
3) Then by using JTokenType you can validate if particular value of respective key is of type string or array or object.
public string ValidateJson(string json)
{
JObject jObject = JObject.Parse(json);
SampleClass model = jObject.ToObject<SampleClass>();
string response = string.Empty;
foreach (var i in model.data)
{
switch (i.Key)
{
case "sno":
if (i.Value.Type != JTokenType.String)
response = "SNo is not a string";
break;
case "project_name":
if (i.Value.Type != JTokenType.String)
response = "Project name is not a string";
break;
case "contributors":
if (i.Value.Type != JTokenType.Array)
response = "Contributors is not an array";
break;
case "office":
if (i.Value.Type != JTokenType.Array)
response = "Office is not an array";
break;
}
}
return response;
}
Your SampleClass would be
class SampleClass
{
[JsonExtensionData]
public Dictionary<string, JToken> data { get; set; }
}

How to parse json object with variable key names using DataContractJsonSerializer

I intend to use DataContractJsonSerializer to convert the json i'm receiving to an object, but the keys in the root can have any name, something similar to this:
{
"Jhon": {...},
"Lucy": {...},
"Robert": {...}
...
}
When the keys are fixed i can use [DataMember(Name = "keyname")] but in this case I don't know what to do. Any ideas?

Try this:
var serializer = new DataContractJsonSerializer(typeof(RootObject), new DataContractJsonSerializerSettings()
{
UseSimpleDictionaryFormat = true
});
var json = #"{
""Jhon"": { ""Name"": ""John""},
""Lucy"": {},
""Robert"": {}
}";
var bytes = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(json);
using (var stream = new MemoryStream(bytes))
{
var results = serializer.ReadObject(stream);
}
// Define other methods and classes here
public class RootObject : Dictionary<string, User>
{
}
public class User
{
public string Name { get; set; }
}

converting Json data to c# understandable format

I am trying to convert my json data to c sharp understandable format so that I can use JsonConvert.SerializeObject to convert that data to JSON format and send it over HTTP protocol. My json data is as follows:
{
"m2m:ae":
{
"api": "ADN_AE_ATCARD06",
"rr": "true",
"lbl": ["AT06"],
"rn": " adn-ae_AT06"
}
}
I tried to write it in c sharp understandable format but was able to do this:
var obj = new
{
m2m = new
{
api = "ADN_AE45",
rr = "true",
lbl = new[] { "ad" },
rn = "adfrt"
}
};
var result = JsonConvert.SerializeObject(obj, Formatting.Indented);
my issue is how to include m2m:ae into my c-sharp code. I am new to json, I am able to convert only if parent object has no value but if it has value I am not able to. please help.

I was incorrect in my comment. While "m2m:ae" is not a valid name for a C# property is valid JSON. This can be accomplished by tagging the class property with JsonProperty.
Define your class like this
public class TestJson
{
[JsonProperty("m2m:ae")]
public Class2 Class2Instance { get; set; }
}
public class Class2
{
public string Api { get; set; }
public string Rr { get; set; }
public string[] Lbl { get; set; }
public string Rn { get; set; }
}
and then populate your class like this
_sut = new TestJson
{
Class2Instance = new Class2 {Api = "ADN_AE45", Rr = "true", Lbl = new[] {"ad"}, Rn = "adfrt"}
};
and serialize
_result = JsonConvert.SerializeObject(_sut, new JsonSerializerSettings
{
ContractResolver = new CamelCasePropertyNamesContractResolver()
});
The resulting serialized object looks like
{
"m2m:ae": {
"api": "ADN_AE45",
"rr": "true",
"lbl": ["ad"],
"rn": "adfrt"
}
}
and deserialization is the reverse
var test = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<TestJson>(_result, new JsonSerializerSettings
{
ContractResolver = new CamelCasePropertyNamesContractResolver()
});

Did you write the Json in a text file?
If yeah so fileTxt is what is written on the file(as json)
String fileTxt = File.ReadAllText(Give a path for a file); //read from file
Jobject Json = Jobject.Parse(fileTxt); //convert the string to Json
Console.WriteLine($"rr: {Json["rr"]} "); // get the rr from json and print it

Other than class method mentioned by Fran one can use the Dictionary method to create key value pair and newtonsoft.json library to convert to json.
var sub= Dictionary<string,string>
{{"abc","xyz"}
};
var main = Dictionary<string,object>
{{"wer:asd",sub}
};
string str= JsonConvert.SerializeObject(main);

Create Json Array with ServiceStack

Quite new to .NET. Still haven't gotten the hang of how to do dictionaries, lists, arrays, etc.
I need to produce this JSON in order to talk to SugarCRM's REST API:
{
"name_value_list": {
"assigned_user_name": {
"name": "assigned_user_name",
"value": "joe"
},
"modified_by_name": {
"name": "modified_by_name",
"value": "jill"
},
"created_by_name": {
"name": "created_by_name",
"value": "jack"
}
}
}
from this C# POCO, which plays nicely with ServiceStack:
public class lead {
public string assigned_user_name { get; set; }
public string modified_by_name { get; set; }
public string created_by_name { get; set; }
}
I have to do this sort of conversion for lots of different classes, so I don't think it's wise to create another strongly typed class (ala Costomising the serialisation/serialised JSON in service stack)
I've looked through the ServiceStack docs, but maybe I missed an example of this somewhere.
How do I build this JSON in a way that I can extend to other ServiceStack POCOs?

This produces the right JSON:
Dictionary<string, Dictionary<string, string>> nameValues = new Dictionary<string, Dictionary<string, string>>();
// Deal with all the properties on the object
IList<PropertyInfo> props = new List<PropertyInfo>(this.GetType().GetProperties());
foreach (PropertyInfo prop in props)
{
Dictionary<string, string> nameValue = new Dictionary<string, string>();
nameValue.Add("name", prop.Name);
object propValue = prop.GetValue(this, null);
if (propValue == null)
{
nameValue.Add("value", string.Empty);
}
else
{
nameValue.Add("value", prop.GetValue(this, null).ToString());
}
nameValues.Add(prop.Name, nameValue);
}
Dictionary<string, object> nameValuesArray = new Dictionary<string, object>();
nameValuesArray.Add("name_value_list", nameValues);
string jsonString = JsonSerializer.SerializeToString<Dictionary<string, object>>(nameValuesArray);
The reflection stuff is so that I can use it on any object later.
It's just a matter of constructing the right dictionary for the desired JSON output - in this case a dictionary -> dictionary -> dictionary. Trial and error... :/
Update
Altered it slightly (thanks paaschpa) to use a generic NameValue class because Dictionaries look ugly. I also got the requirements wrong. The JSON should be this:
[
{
"name": "id",
"value": "60e03cb3-df91-02bd-91ae-51cb04f937bf"
},
{
"name": "first_name",
"value": "FancyPants"
}
]
which you can do like this:
public class NameValue
{
public string name { get; set; }
public string value { get; set; }
}
public class Lead
{
public string assigned_user_name { get; set; }
public string modified_by_name { get; set; }
public string modified_user_name { get; set; }
public List<NameValue> toNameValues()
{
List<NameValue> nameValues = new List<NameValue>();
IList<PropertyInfo> props = new List<PropertyInfo>(this.GetType().GetProperties());
foreach (PropertyInfo prop in props)
{
NameValue nameValue = new NameValue();
object propValue = prop.GetValue(this, null);
if (propValue != null && !String.IsNullOrEmpty(propValue.ToString()))
{
nameValue.name = prop.Name;
nameValue.value = propValue.ToString();
nameValues.Add(nameValue);
}
}
return nameValues;
}
}
I'm leaving my original question as is (and my above answer) because it's still a legit example and proper JSON.

Well, I don't think .NET dictionaries, lists, arrays, etc. will be helpful since the JSON you listed doesn't appear to have any arrays (square brackets) it in. I'm guessing most .NET JSON serializers will use square brackets when it hits these types. So, I think this leaves creating your own classes or doing some type of 'string magic' to produce to JSON you need.
Not exactly sure how you are using ServiceStack to talk to SugarCRM, but doing something like below should have ServiceStack.Text.JsonSerializer produce the JSON string you listed.
public class NameValue
{
public string name { get; set; }
public string value { get; set; }
}
public class Lead
{
public NameValue assigned_user_name { get; set; }
public NameValue modified_by_name { get; set; }
public NameValue created_by_name { get; set; }
}
public class LeadRequest
{
public Lead name_value_list { get; set; }
}
public void JsonTest()
{
var req = new LeadRequest
{
name_value_list = new Lead
{
assigned_user_name = new NameValue {name = "assigned_user_name", value = "joe"},
modified_by_name = new NameValue {name = "modified_by_name", value = "jill"},
created_by_name = new NameValue {name = "created_by_name", value = "jack"}
}
};
var jsonReq = ServiceStack.Text.JsonSerializer.SerializeToString(req);
}

You could create a custom serializer for the lead class.
JsConfig<lead>.SerializeFn = lead => {
// Use reflection to loop over the properties of the `lead` object and build a dictionary
var data = new Dictionary<string, object>();
foreach (var property in typeof(lead).GetProperties()) {
data[property.Name] = new {
name: property.Name,
value: property.GetValue(lead, null);
};
}
return data.ToJson();
};
You could make this generic by having all classes that you want to serialize in this way implement a marker interface, for example ISugarCrmRequest, and register this custom serializer for all implementations of that interface.