.NET NewtonSoft JSON deserialize with different property name [duplicate] - json

Question

how can I deserialize below json structure using newtonsoft json.net in .net.
{
"users" : {
"parentname":"test",
"100034" : {
"name" : "tom",
"state" : "WA",
"id" : "cedf-c56f-18a4-4b1"
},
"10045" : {
"name" : "steve",
"state" : "NY",
"id" : "ebb2-92bf-3062-7774"
},
"12345" : {
"name" : "mike",
"state" : "MA",
"id" : "fb60-b34f-6dc8-aaf7"
}
}
}
I tried below code but its not working. I got error 'Error converting value "test" to type 'ConsoleApplication2.User'. Path 'users.parentname', line 5, position 35.'
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
string json = #"
{
""users"": {
""parentname"":""test"",
""10045"": {
""name"": ""steve"",
""state"": ""NY"",
""id"": ""ebb2-92bf-3062-7774""
}
}
}";
RootObject root = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<RootObject>(json);
}
}
class RootObject
{
public string ParentName { get; set; }
public Dictionary<string, User> users { get; set; }
}
class User
{
public string name { get; set; }
public string state { get; set; }
public string id { get; set; }
public string ParentName { get; set; }
}
Please suggest.

Answer 1

You have a couple problems:
Your JSON has an extra level of nesting, with the root object containing a single property "users":
{
"users" : { ... }
}
Your data model needs to reflect this.
Your "users" object has a mixture of known and unknown property names. The question Deserialize json with known and unknown fields addresses a similar situation, however in your case your unknown properties always have a fixed schema and their values should be deserialized into a dictionary of POCOs -- specifically the User class. Therefore the answers there don't quite meet your needs, nor does the build-in functionality [JsonExtensionData].
The following converter allows for unknown properties to be deserialized into a typed container, rather than into an dictionary of arbitrary types:
[AttributeUsage(AttributeTargets.Field | AttributeTargets.Property, AllowMultiple = false)]
public class JsonTypedExtensionDataAttribute : Attribute
{
}
public class TypedExtensionDataConverter<TObject> : JsonConverter
{
public override bool CanConvert(Type objectType)
{
return typeof(TObject).IsAssignableFrom(objectType);
}
JsonProperty GetExtensionJsonProperty(JsonObjectContract contract)
{
try
{
return contract.Properties.Where(p => p.AttributeProvider.GetAttributes(typeof(JsonTypedExtensionDataAttribute), false).Any()).Single();
}
catch (InvalidOperationException ex)
{
throw new JsonSerializationException(string.Format("Exactly one property with JsonTypedExtensionDataAttribute is required for type {0}", contract.UnderlyingType), ex);
}
}
public override object ReadJson(JsonReader reader, Type objectType, object existingValue, JsonSerializer serializer)
{
if (reader.TokenType == JsonToken.Null)
return null;
var jObj = JObject.Load(reader);
var contract = (JsonObjectContract)serializer.ContractResolver.ResolveContract(objectType);
var extensionJsonProperty = GetExtensionJsonProperty(contract);
var extensionJProperty = (JProperty)null;
for (int i = jObj.Count - 1; i >= 0; i--)
{
var property = (JProperty)jObj.AsList()[i];
if (contract.Properties.GetClosestMatchProperty(property.Name) == null)
{
if (extensionJProperty == null)
{
extensionJProperty = new JProperty(extensionJsonProperty.PropertyName, new JObject());
jObj.Add(extensionJProperty);
}
((JObject)extensionJProperty.Value).Add(property.RemoveFromLowestPossibleParent());
}
}
var value = existingValue ?? contract.DefaultCreator();
using (var subReader = jObj.CreateReader())
serializer.Populate(subReader, value);
return value;
}
public override void WriteJson(JsonWriter writer, object value, JsonSerializer serializer)
{
var contract = (JsonObjectContract)serializer.ContractResolver.ResolveContract(value.GetType());
var extensionJsonProperty = GetExtensionJsonProperty(contract);
JObject jObj;
using (new PushValue<bool>(true, () => Disabled, (canWrite) => Disabled = canWrite))
{
jObj = JObject.FromObject(value, serializer);
}
var extensionValue = (jObj[extensionJsonProperty.PropertyName] as JObject).RemoveFromLowestPossibleParent();
if (extensionValue != null)
{
for (int i = extensionValue.Count - 1; i >= 0; i--)
{
var property = (JProperty)extensionValue.AsList()[i];
jObj.Add(property.RemoveFromLowestPossibleParent());
}
}
jObj.WriteTo(writer);
}
[ThreadStatic]
static bool disabled;
// Disables the converter in a thread-safe manner.
bool Disabled { get { return disabled; } set { disabled = value; } }
public override bool CanWrite { get { return !Disabled; } }
public override bool CanRead { get { return !Disabled; } }
}
public struct PushValue<T> : IDisposable
{
Action<T> setValue;
T oldValue;
public PushValue(T value, Func<T> getValue, Action<T> setValue)
{
if (getValue == null || setValue == null)
throw new ArgumentNullException();
this.setValue = setValue;
this.oldValue = getValue();
setValue(value);
}
#region IDisposable Members
// By using a disposable struct we avoid the overhead of allocating and freeing an instance of a finalizable class.
public void Dispose()
{
if (setValue != null)
setValue(oldValue);
}
#endregion
}
public static class JsonExtensions
{
public static TJToken RemoveFromLowestPossibleParent<TJToken>(this TJToken node) where TJToken : JToken
{
if (node == null)
return null;
var contained = node.AncestorsAndSelf().Where(t => t.Parent is JContainer && t.Parent.Type != JTokenType.Property).FirstOrDefault();
if (contained != null)
contained.Remove();
// Also detach the node from its immediate containing property -- Remove() does not do this even though it seems like it should
if (node.Parent is JProperty)
((JProperty)node.Parent).Value = null;
return node;
}
public static IList<JToken> AsList(this IList<JToken> container) { return container; }
}
Then use it in your classes as follows:
class RootObject
{
[JsonProperty("users")]
public Users Users { get; set; }
}
[JsonConverter(typeof(TypedExtensionDataConverter<Users>))]
class Users
{
public Users()
{
this.UserTable = new Dictionary<string, User>();
}
[JsonProperty("parentname")]
public string ParentName { get; set; }
[JsonTypedExtensionData]
public Dictionary<string, User> UserTable { get; set; }
}
class User
{
public string name { get; set; }
public string state { get; set; }
public string id { get; set; }
}
I wrote the converter in a fairly general way so it can be reused. A converter that is hardcoded for the Users type would require less code.

Answer 2

Your Json has to look like this:
{
"ParentName":"test",
"users":{
"10045":{
"name":"steve",
"state":"NY",
"id":"ebb2-92bf-3062-7774",
"ParentName":"someOtherName"
}
}
}
In order to deserialize it with your given class structure:
class RootObject
{
public string ParentName { get; set; }
public Dictionary<string, User> users { get; set; }
}
class User
{
public string name { get; set; }
public string state { get; set; }
public string id { get; set; }
public string ParentName { get; set; }
}
Now you can deserialize the Json string with:
var root = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<RootObject>(json);