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How can I parse some JSON dynamically without knowing JSON values?

So I am using TDAmeritrade API to receive stock data with a C# Winforms program on Visual Studio. It takes the user input stock symbol and searches for the info. I am using HttpClient and Newtonsoft.Json and have been able to successfully perform the GET request and receive a JSON string back, but I do not know how to get all of the information I need out of it.
Here is the JSON:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TpAUwjyqrHArEXGXMof_K1eQe0hFoaw5/view?usp=sharing
Above is the JSON string sent back to me then formatted. My goal is to record information for each price in "callExpDateMap.2021-02-19:11" and "callExpDateMap.2021-03-19:39". The problem is that for each different stock, the dates that show up in "callExpDateMap" are going to be different.
client.DefaultRequestHeaders.Authorization = new AuthenticationHeaderValue("Bearer", token);
var response = await client.GetAsync(url);
var info = await response.Content.ReadAsStringAsync();
dynamic config = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<dynamic>(info, new ExpandoObjectConverter());
return config;
This is the code I have right now. I know the last for statement is not correct. How can I parse to the specific sections I want (callExpDateMap.expirationdate.StrikePrice) and get the information needed from each without knowing the dates and Strike prices beforehand? Is there a way to innumerate it and search through the JSON as if it were all a bunch of arrays?

The code below is perhaps not the most elegant nor complete, but I think it will get you going. I would start by using the JObject.Parse() from the Newtonsoft.Json.Linq namespace and take it from there.
JObject root = JObject.Parse(info);
string symbol = root["symbol"].ToObject<string>();
foreach (JToken toplevel in root["callExpDateMap"].Children())
{
foreach (JToken nextlevel in toplevel.Children())
{
foreach (JToken bottomlevel in nextlevel.Children())
{
foreach (JToken jToken in bottomlevel.Children())
{
JArray jArray = jToken as JArray;
foreach (var arrayElement in jArray)
{
InfoObject infoObject = arrayElement.ToObject<InfoObject>();
Console.WriteLine(infoObject.putCall);
Console.WriteLine(infoObject.exchangeName);
Console.WriteLine(infoObject.multiplier);
}
}
}
}
}
public class InfoObject
{
public string putCall { get; set; }
public string symbol { get; set; }
public string description { get; set; }
public string exchangeName { get; set; }
// ...
public int multiplier { get; set; }
// ...
}

This is official documentation of Newtonsoft method you are trying to use.
https://www.newtonsoft.com/json/help/html/Overload_Newtonsoft_Json_JsonConvert_DeserializeObject.htm
If an API's method returns different json propeties and you cannot trust it's property names all the times, then you can try using a deserialize method that returns .Net object, for example: JsonConvert.DeserializeObject Method (String)
https://www.newtonsoft.com/json/help/html/M_Newtonsoft_Json_JsonConvert_DeserializeObject.htm
That method's signature is this:
public static Object DeserializeObject(string value)
Parameter is: value of type json string.
Return Value is: Object of type object.
If you do not want an Object, then you can of course use a .Net type you have. Such as this method:
JsonConvert.DeserializeObject Method (String)
Any property that you have in both (the .net type and json object) will get populated. If .net type has properties that do not exist in json object, then those will be ignored. If json object has properties that do not exist in.net, then those will be ignored too.
Here's an example of a .Net type
using Microsoft.VisualStudio.TestTools.UnitTesting;
using Newtonsoft.Json;
using Newtonsoft.Json.Linq;
using Newtonsoft.Json.Serialization;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.IO;
using System.Text;
namespace MyNameSpace
{
public class TDAmeritradeStockData
{
[JsonProperty("symbol")]
public string Symbol { get; set; }
[JsonProperty("status")]
public string Status { get; set; }
[JsonProperty("callExpDateMap")]
public object CallExpDateMap { get; set; }
//...
//...
public CallExpDateMapType[] CallExpDateMapList { get; set; }
}
public class CallExpDateMapType
{
[JsonProperty("expirationdate")]
public string Expirationdate { get; set; }
[JsonProperty("StrikePrice")]
public List<StrikePriceType> StrikePriceList { get; set; }
}
public class StrikePriceType
{
public string StrikePrice { get; set; }
public List<StrikePricePropertiesType> StrikePricePropertiesList { get; set; }
}
public class StrikePricePropertiesType
{
[JsonProperty("putCall")]
public string PutCall { get; set; }
[JsonProperty("symbol")]
public string Symbol { get; set; }
[JsonProperty("description")]
public string Description { get; set; }
[JsonProperty("exchangeName")]
public string ExchangeName { get; set; }
[JsonProperty("bid")]
public double Bid { get; set; }
[JsonProperty("ask")]
public double Ask { get; set; }
//...
//...
}
[TestClass]
public class TestTestTest
{
[TestMethod]
public void JsonTest()
{
var jsondata = ReadFile("data.json");
var model = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<TDAmeritradeStockData>(jsondata);
JObject jObject = (JObject)model.CallExpDateMap;
var count = ((JObject)model.CallExpDateMap).Count;
model.CallExpDateMapList = new CallExpDateMapType[count];
var jToken = (JToken)jObject.First;
for (var i = 0; i < count; i++)
{
model.CallExpDateMapList[i] = new CallExpDateMapType
{
Expirationdate = jToken.Path,
StrikePriceList = new List<StrikePriceType>()
};
var nextStrikePrice = jToken.First.First;
while (nextStrikePrice != null)
{
var nextStrikePriceProperties = nextStrikePrice;
var srikePriceList = new StrikePriceType
{
StrikePrice = nextStrikePriceProperties.Path,
StrikePricePropertiesList = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<List<StrikePricePropertiesType>>(nextStrikePrice.First.ToString())
};
model.CallExpDateMapList[i].StrikePriceList.Add(srikePriceList);
nextStrikePrice = nextStrikePrice.Next;
}
jToken = jToken.Next;
}
Assert.IsNotNull(model);
}
private string ReadFile(string fileName)
{
using (var fileStream = new FileStream(fileName, FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read))
{
var data = new StringBuilder();
using (var streamReader = new StreamReader(fileStream))
{
while (!streamReader.EndOfStream) data.Append(streamReader.ReadLine());
streamReader.Close();
}
fileStream.Close();
return data.ToString();
}
}
}
}

JSON Object and Simple Type to Model in WebAPI using FromBody

I am creating a Web Api method that should accept a JSON Object and a Simple Type. But all parameters are always null.
My json looks like
{
"oldCredentials" : {
"UserName" : "user",
"PasswordHash" : "myCHqkiIAnybMPLzz3pg+GLQ8kM=",
"Nonce" : "/SeVX599/KjPX/J+JvX3/xE/44g=",
"Language" : null,
"SaveCredentials" : false
},
"newPassword" : "asdf"}
And my Code looks like:
[HttpPut("UpdatePassword")]
[Route("WebServices/UsersService.svc/rest/users/user")]
public void UpdatePassword([FromBody]LoginData oldCredentials, [FromBody]string newPassword)
{
NonceService.ValidateNonce(oldCredentials.Nonce);
var users = UserStore.Load();
var theUser = GetUser(oldCredentials.UserName, users);
if (!UserStore.AuthenticateUser(oldCredentials, theUser))
{
FailIncorrectPassword();
}
var iv = Encoder.GetRandomNumber(16);
theUser.EncryptedPassword = Encoder.Encrypt(newPassword, iv);
theUser.InitializationVektor = iv;
UserStore.Save(users);
}

The current JSON you are sending maps to the following classes
public class LoginData {
public string UserName { get; set; }
public string PasswordHash { get; set; }
public string Nonce { get; set; }
public string Language { get; set; }
public bool SaveCredentials { get; set; }
}
public class UpdateModel {
public LoginData oldCredentials { get; set; }
public string newPassword { get; set; }
}
[FromBody] can only be used once in action parameters
[HttpPut("WebServices/UsersService.svc/rest/users/user")]
public void UpdatePassword([FromBody]UpdateModel model) {
LoginData oldCredentials = model.oldCredentials;
string newPassword = model.newPassword;
NonceService.ValidateNonce(oldCredentials.Nonce);
var users = UserStore.Load();
var theUser = GetUser(oldCredentials.UserName, users);
if (!UserStore.AuthenticateUser(oldCredentials, theUser)) {
FailIncorrectPassword();
}
var iv = Encoder.GetRandomNumber(16);
theUser.EncryptedPassword = Encoder.Encrypt(newPassword, iv);
theUser.InitializationVektor = iv;
UserStore.Save(users);
}

As per the Parameter Binding in ASP.NET Web API, "At most one parameter is allowed to read from the message body". Means only one parameter can contain [FromBody]. So in this case it will not work. Create one complex object and add required properties to it. You can add newPassword to your complex object to make it work.

More than one [FromBody] does not work in Api. Check this Microsoft Official blog
So now you can do like this, create a complex object which should contain both your oldCredentials and newPassword. For example LoginData class in my example bellow. And myLoginRequest is another object class which is to deserialized your LoginData.
[HttpPut("UpdatePassword")]
[Route("WebServices/UsersService.svc/rest/users/user")]
public void UpdatePassword([FromBody]LoginData MyCredentials)
{
loginRequest request = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<myLoginRequest>
(json.ToString());
// then you can do the rest

public class DocumentController : ApiController
{
[HttpPost]
public IHttpActionResult PostDocument([FromBody] Container data)
{
try
{
if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(data.Document)) return ResponseMessage(Request.CreateResponse(HttpStatusCode.NoContent, "No document attached"));
return ResponseMessage(IndexDocument(data, Request));
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
return ResponseMessage(Request.CreateResponse(HttpStatusCode.NotAcceptable, ex.Message));
}
}
}
public class InsuranceContainer
{
[JsonProperty("token")]
public string Token { get; set; }
[JsonProperty("document")]
public string Document { get; set; }
[JsonProperty("text")]
public string Text { get; set; }
}
var fileAsBytes = File.ReadAllBytes(#"C:\temp\tmp62.pdf");
String asBase64String = Convert.ToBase64String(fileAsBytes);
var newModel = new InsuranceContainer
{
Document = asBase64String,
Text = "Test document",
};
string json = JsonConvert.SerializeObject(newModel);
using (var stringContent = new StringContent(json, System.Text.Encoding.UTF8, "application/json"))
using (var client = new HttpClient())
{
var response = await client.PostAsync("https://www.mysite.dk/WebService/api/Document/PostDocument", stringContent);
Console.WriteLine(response.StatusCode);
var message = response.Content.ReadAsStringAsync();
Console.WriteLine(message.Result);
}

Problems deserializing List of objects

I am having trouble deserializing a list of objects. I can get just one object to serialize into an object but cannot get the list. I get no error it just returns an empty List. This is the XML that gets returned:
<locations>
<location locationtype="building" locationtypeid="1">
<id>1</id>
<name>Building Name</name>
<description>Description of Building</description>
</location>
</locations>
This is the class I have and I am deserializing in the GetAll method:
[Serializable()]
[XmlRoot("location")]
public class Building
{
private string method;
[XmlElement("id")]
public int LocationID { get; set; }
[XmlElement("name")]
public string Name { get; set; }
[XmlElement("description")]
public string Description { get; set; }
[XmlElement("mubuildingid")]
public string MUBuildingID { get; set; }
public List<Building> GetAll()
{
var listBuildings = new List<Building>();
var building = new Building();
var request = WebRequest.Create(method) as HttpWebRequest;
var response = request.GetResponse() as HttpWebResponse;
var streamReader = new StreamReader(response.GetResponseStream());
TextReader reader = streamReader;
var serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(List<Building>),
new XmlRootAttribute() { ElementName = "locations" });
listBuildings = (List<Building>)serializer.Deserialize(reader);
return listBuildings;
}
}

Try this:
[XmlRoot("locations")]
public class BuildingList
{
public BuildingList() {Items = new List<Building>();}
[XmlElement("location")]
public List<Building> Items {get;set;}
}
Then deserialize the whole BuildingList object.
var xmlSerializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(BuildingList));
var list = (BuildingList)xmlSerializer.Deserialize(xml);

I know this is an old(er) question, but I struggled with this today, and found an answer that doesn't require encapsulation.
Assumption 1: You have control over the source Xml and how it is constructed.
Assumption 2: You are trying to serialise the Xml directly into a List<T> object
You must name the Root element in the Xml as ArrayOfxxx where xxx is the name of your class (or the name specified in XmlType (see 2.))
If you wish your xml Elements to have a different name to the class, you should use XmlType on the class.
NB: If your Type name (or class name) starts with a lowercase letter, you should convert the first character to uppercase.
Example 1 - Without XmlType
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
//String containing the xml array of items.
string xml =
#"<ArrayOfItem>
<Item>
<Name>John Doe</Name>
</Item>
<Item>
<Name>Martha Stewart</Name>
</Item>
</ArrayOfItem>";
List<Item> items = null;
using (var mem = new MemoryStream(Encoding.Default.GetBytes(xml)))
using (var stream = new StreamReader(mem))
{
var ser = new XmlSerializer(typeof(List<Item>)); //Deserialising to List<Item>
items = (List<Item>)ser.Deserialize(stream);
}
if (items != null)
{
items.ForEach(I => Console.WriteLine(I.Name));
}
else
Console.WriteLine("No Items Deserialised");
}
}
public class Item
{
public string Name { get; set; }
}
Example 2 - With XmlType
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
//String containing the xml array of items.
//Note the Array Name, and the Title case on stq.
string xml =
#"<ArrayOfStq>
<stq>
<Name>John Doe</Name>
</stq>
<stq>
<Name>Martha Stewart</Name>
</stq>
</ArrayOfStq>";
List<Item> items = null;
using (var mem = new MemoryStream(Encoding.Default.GetBytes(xml)))
using (var stream = new StreamReader(mem))
{
var ser = new XmlSerializer(typeof(List<Item>)); //Deserialising to List<Item>
items = (List<Item>)ser.Deserialize(stream);
}
if (items != null)
{
items.ForEach(I => Console.WriteLine(I.Name));
}
else
Console.WriteLine("No Items Deserialised");
}
}
[XmlType("stq")]
public class Item
{
public string Name { get; set; }
}

Not sure how Building corresponds with the location you have in your xml, but to me it makes more sense if they're named equivalently. Instead of using a List use a LocationList, and it becomes:
[Serializable()]
[XmlRoot("locations")]
public class LocationCollection{
[XmlElement("location")]
public Location[] Locations {get;set;}
}
[Serializable()]
[XmlRoot("location")]
public class Location
{
[XmlElement("id")]
public int LocationID { get; set; }
[XmlAttribute("locationtype")]
public string LocationType {get;set;}
[XmlElement("name")]
public string Name { get; set; }
[XmlElement("description")]
public string Description { get; set; }
[XmlElement("mubuildingid")]
public string MUBuildingID { get; set; }
}
You can then deserialize as follows:
var request = WebRequest.Create(method) as HttpWebRequest;
var response = request.GetResponse() as HttpWebResponse;
var streamReader = new StreamReader(response.GetResponseStream());
TextReader reader = streamReader;
var serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(LocationCollection),
new XmlRootAttribute() { ElementName = "locations" });
var listBuildings = (LocationCollection)serializer.Deserialize(reader);
return listBuildings;

I know, old question, but came across it when faced by a similar issue.
Building on #ricovox's answer and in context of the OP's question, this is the model I would use to serialize his xml:
[Serializable, XmlRoot("locations")]
public class BuildingList
{
[XmlArrayItem("location", typeof(Building))]
public List<Building> locations { get; set; }
}
[Serializable]
public class Building
{
public int LocationID { get; set; }
public string Name { get; set; }
public string Description { get; set; }
public string MUBuildingID { get; set; }
public List<Building> GetAll()
{
...
}
}
The OP's mistake was to create the list item as the root

Use [XMLArray] for collection properties.

JavascriptSerializer, Deserializer, not able to deserialize my object

I am unable to deserialize my custom object.
public class UserInfo
{
public int Id1 { get; set; }
public string Code { get; set; }
public int Id2 { get; set; }
public List<string> Roles { get; set; }
public string Eg1 { get; set; }
public DateTime Time{ get; set; }
public string Eg2 { get; set; }
public string Version { get; set; }
}
JavaScriptSerializer serializer = new JavaScriptSerializer();
return serializer.Deserialize<UserInfo>(raw);
The Deserialize is throwing an exception
"Cannot convert object of type 'System.String' to type 'UserInfo'"
JSON Contents:
"\"{\\\"Id1\\\":0,\\\"Code\\\":null,\\\"Id2\\\":0,\\\"Roles\\\":null,\\\"Eg1\\\":\\\"Eg2\\\",\\\"Time\\\":\\\"\\\\/Date(-62135596800000)\\\\/\\\",\\\"Version\\\":\\\"1.0.0.0\\\"}\""
Note: Let me know, if it is unclear. I'll edit the question.
-- edited. ID2 changed to Id2. The real class is different in terms of variable names. Hence the issue.

Your string is a C# string containing a JavaScript string containing JSON. Short of fixing what you're being sent, here's how you would deserialize:
var jsonString = serializer.Deserialize<string>(raw);
return serializer.Deserialize<UserInfo>(jsonString);

You are passing a Javascript string to your deserializer because you have your object within an escaped string.
After unescaping it, this is what the serializer receives:
"{\"Id1\":0,\"Code\":null,\"Id2\":0,\"Roles\":null,\"Eg1\":\"Eg2\",\"Time\":\"\\/Date(-62135596800000)\\/\",\"Version\":\"1.0.0.0\"}"
What you really want to send it is:
{"Id1":0,"Code":null,"Id2":0,"Roles":null,"Eg1":"Eg2","Time":"\/Date(-62135596800000)\/","Version":"1.0.0.0"}"

Your ID2 is all caps in the JSON and the Id2 is not in your class.
EDIT:
Try creating an instance of the object and serialize it to JSON to compare and see if the JSON is correct or not. You can then use that string to properly format.

The code below should help someone get up and running.
the above code will cause an error on because string has no default constructor.
If a string is passed in from JSON.stringify() client JavaScript method the second Deserialize may work if the object passed in maps to the public fields in the object.
Let's look at a quick example presuming an .ASHX file receives the request from a jQuery call that looks like this:
//Called from with a jQuery ready() in a simple html page
var getNewPerson = function ()
{
var NewPerson = new Object();
NewPerson.PersonID = "0";
NewPerson.FirstName = $("#FirstName").val();
NewPerson.LastName = $("#LastName").val();
NewPerson.Address = $("#Address").val();
NewPerson.City = $("#City").val();
NewPerson.State = $("#State").val();
NewPerson.Zip = $("#Zip").val();
var arrObj;
var str = "";
var webMethod = "http://someserver.com/admin/DataHandler.ashx";
$.ajax({
cache: false,
url: webMethod,
type: "POST",
dataType: "json",
/* for hashtable or .net web service - data: "{\"NewPerson\":" + JSON.stringify(NewPerson) + "}", */
data: JSON.stringify(NewPerson),
contentType: "application/json; charset=utf-8"
}
)
.done( function(){}... code here ...etc)
//Valid JSON object format: {"PersonID":"1","FirstName":"Rick","LastName":"Wright","Address":"4520 No Such address Ave.","City":"Riverside","State":"CA","Zip":"92503"}
//And here is a sample class on the C# side in the .ashx handler page.
public class NewPerson
{
public int PersonID { get; set; }
public string FirstName { get; set; }
public string LastName { get; set; }
public string Address { get; set; }
public string City { get; set; }
public string State { get; set; }
public string Zip { get; set; }
} // EOC Person
// And in the process request
public void ProcessRequest(HttpContext context)
{
string jsonString = "";
string rawJson = "";
System.Diagnostics.Debugger.Break();
HttpContext.Current.Request.InputStream.Position = 0;
string responseString;
var jsonSerializer = new JavaScriptSerializer();
/*Set the stream position to 0 */
context.Request.InputStream.Position = 0;
using (System.IO.StreamReader inputStream = new StreamReader(context.Request.InputStream))
{
rawJson = inputStream.ReadToEnd();
}
var objNewPerson = jsonSerializer.Deserialize<NewPerson>(rawJson);
if (clientList != null)
{
responseString = objNewPerson.FirstName + " " + objNewPerson.LastName ;
}
else
resp="No Record Found";
} // eof ProcessRequest

How to get JSON String value?

var responseFromServer =
// lines split for readability
"{\"flag\":true,\"message\":\"\",\"result\":{\"ServicePermission\":true,"
+ "\"UserGroupPermission\":true}}";
var serializer = new System.Web.Script.Serialization.JavaScriptSerializer();
var responseValue = serializer.DeserializeObject(responseFromServer);
responseFromServer value is get a webservice, and then how to get the JSON string value, such as "flag"，"Servicepermission"？？
affix: i'm sorry, using c# to do this.

Note: The JavaScriptSerializer is actually the slowest JSON Serializer I've ever benchmarked. So much so I've had to remove it from my benchmarks because it was taking too long (>100x slower).
Anyway this easily solved using ServiceStack.Text's JSON Serializer:
var response = JsonSerializer.DeserializeFromString<Dictionary<string,string>>(responseFromServer);
var permissions = JsonSerializer.DeserializeFromString<Dictionary<string,string>>(response["result"]);
Console.WriteLine(response["flag"] + ":" + permissions["ServicePermission"]);
For completeness this would also work with ServiceStack.Text.JsonSerializer:
public class Response
{
public bool flag { get; set; }
public string message { get; set; }
public Permisions result { get; set; }
}
public class Permisions
{
public bool ServicePermission { get; set; }
public bool UserGroupPermission { get; set; }
}
var response = JsonSerializer.DeserializeFromString<Response>(responseFromServer);
Console.WriteLine(response.flag + ":" + response.result.ServicePermission);

if u are using jQuery u can do this
var json=jQuery.parseJSON(responseFromServer);
//acess
alert(json.ServicePermission);
if you are asing microsoft ajax do this
var json=Sys.Serialization.JavaScriptSerializer.deserialize(responseFromServer,true);
//acess
alert(json.ServicePermission);
in c# like php i have'nt seen any method that converts json to object on the fly. To do conversions in c# you must first create a class for this.
For your case you can do like this
//define classes
public class Response
{
public bool flag { get; set; }
public string message { get; set; }
public Permisions result { get; set; }
}
public class Permisions
{
public bool ServicePermission { get; set; }
public bool UserGroupPermission { get; set; }
}
var responseFromServer =
// lines split for readability
"{\"flag\":true,\"message\":\"\",\"result\":{\"ServicePermission\":true,"
+ "\"UserGroupPermission\":true}}";
var serializer = new System.Web.Script.Serialization.JavaScriptSerializer();
var responseValue = serializer.Deserialize<Response>(responseFromServer);
//access
responseValue.result.ServicePermission