JSON to C# conversion - keys like objects

Question

I read a lot of articles about JSON to C# conversion but I have one specific problem. I'm trying to convert JSON from Http response to C# object of NewsResult type with following line of code :

var newsResult = await response.Content.ReadAsAsync<NewsResult>();

This code works in most of cases and map automatically JSON data to hierarchy of C# objects, but in one case REST returns following JSON:

{
"result": {
    "1": {
        "id": 1,
        "title": "title01"            
    },
    "2": {
        "id": 2,
        "title": "title02" 
    },
    ...

Resulting C# class should look like this

public class NewsResult
{
    public ICollection<News> Result { get; set; }
}

I have trouble to map this JSON to some C# object hierarchy automatically. Do you have any idea please how to resolve this problem? I would prefer C# code that I mentioned but I would try another approach if it will be needed. One more info: I can't change REST service. Thank you.

What does `NewsResult` look like? Further, what does the result look like *when it does work?* — Mike Perrenoud, May 21 '14 at 19:16
That's because it can't be mapped to an object.`result` can be converted to a `Dictionary` or a `dynamic` — jgauffin, May 21 '14 at 19:16
@Jon Skeet I don't use any JSON library. It works automatically according to this article : [Calling a Web API From a .NET Client](http://www.asp.net/web-api/overview/web-api-clients/calling-a-web-api-from-a-net-client) — y0j0, May 21 '14 at 19:19
You will have to use a custom `JsonConverter` which serializes/deserializes the `Result[]`. See the solution here that you can easily adapt to your situation: http://stackoverflow.com/a/17746239/325521 — Shiva, May 21 '14 at 19:21
@jgauffin Thank you, you are right, Dictionary works correctly :) — y0j0, May 21 '14 at 19:26

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered May 21 '14 at 19:27

2

this should work

HttpClient c = new HttpClient();
var response = await c.GetAsync(yoururl);
var newsResult = await response.Content.ReadAsAsync<NewsResult>();

public class NewsResult
{
    public Dictionary<string, Item> result { set; get; }
}

public class Item
{
    public string id { set; get; }
    public string title { set; get; }
}

answered May 21 '14 at 19:27

L.B

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@YoYo: You can award LB the answer. – jgauffin May 21 '14 at 19:30

JSON to C# conversion - keys like objects

1 Answers1