Using JSON.NET to deserialize into IEnumerable

Question

I'm attempting to deserialize a list of key value pairs in JSON. I've seen other answers that suggest deserializing into a dictionary, but this won't work as I have duplicate keys. I could deserialize into a list of dictionaries, but this seems silly, because each one is only one key/value pair. This also complicates accessing those keys and values.

This is a property on a class and part of a larger JSON object, so any solution that requires deserializing this chunk of JSON separately isn't going to work for me.

I've seen Deserialize array of key value pairs using Json.NET. It's a possible solution, but while I'm not opposed to writing a custom deserializer if I have to, I would prefer to use something existing if possible.

Here's an example of my data:

[{"Parcel": "Parcel_ID"}, {"Parcel": "LegalAddress"}, {"Fee": "Amount"}]

Things I've tried:

IEumerable<KeyValuePair<string, string>> Doesn't work, both key and value are null.

IEnumerable<Tuple<string, string>> Doesn't work and is awkward.

IEnumerable<IDictionary<string, string>> Works, but is awkward to work with due to needing to do FirstOrDefault().(Key|Value).

This looks a lot like http://stackoverflow.com/q/15789539/215552? — Heretic Monkey, Mar 22 '17 at 14:50
@MikeMcCaughan Yeah, if I do end up writing my own deserializer, that is what I would base it on. I was just hoping something had changed in the last 4 years. — Morgan Thrapp, Mar 22 '17 at 14:52
How about adding `SelectMany` to your last try: `JsonConvert.DeserializeObject>>(json).SelectMany(o => o)`? — DavidG, Mar 22 '17 at 14:52
Because it's a property on a class. This isn't the full JSON. — Morgan Thrapp, Mar 22 '17 at 14:53
Doesn't you can't deserialise to an intermediate class and project it afterwards. — DavidG, Mar 22 '17 at 14:54
Sure, I could do that, but at that point I'm just going to write my own converter. — Morgan Thrapp, Mar 22 '17 at 14:55
@MorganThrapp what result do you want to achieve? Maybe a sort of `List`, where `Item` is a class with 2 properties, `Key` and `Value`? — Massimiliano Kraus, Mar 22 '17 at 15:23
@MassimilianoKraus Yeah, that's what I'm doing for the moment. I was just trying to see if there was a builtin type that would work out of the box. — Morgan Thrapp, Mar 22 '17 at 15:27
@MorganThrapp what about [this](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/15455304/deserialize-a-property-as-an-expandoobject-using-json-net) ? — Massimiliano Kraus, Mar 22 '17 at 15:33

score -1 · Answer 1 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:25

-1

If you have this kind of structure many times in your project, the best is to create your own converter with Newtonsoft as say in this Post.

edited May 23 '17 at 12:25

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answered Mar 22 '17 at 16:07

OrcusZ

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Using JSON.NET to deserialize into IEnumerable

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