Newtonsoft JSON - different JSON structure, object vs array

Question

I have this JSON structure:

[
  {
    "key1": "value",
    "key2": "value",
    "key3": "TYPE_ONE",
    "extraData": {
      "key4": "value",
      "key5": "value",
      "key6": {
        "key7": {
          "key8": "value",
          "key9": "value",
          "key10": "value"
        }
      }
    }
  },
  {
    "key1": "value",
    "key2": "value",
    "key3": "TYPE_TWO",
    "extraData": {
      "key4": "value",
      "key5": "value",
      "key6": {
        "key7": [
          {
            "key8": "value",
            "key9": "value",
            "key10": "value"
          },
          {
            "key8": "value1",
            "key9": "value1",
            "key10": "value1"
          },
          {
            "key8": "value2",
            "key9": "value2",
            "key10": "value2"
          }
        ]
      }
    }
  }
]

I'm trying to deserialize it with using Newtonsoft.Json; in C#. JSON has two structures.
1. CASE -> when "key3": "TYPE_ONE", then key7 is object.
2. CASE -> when "key3": "TYPE_TWO", Then key7 is array.
If in class

public class key6
{
    public key7 key7Item { get; set; }
}

key7Item is set as object works only if i get all object from response that are "key3": "TYPE_ONE"
If i set key7Item as List then works only if all items from response are "key3": "TYPE_TWO".

Can i configure Newtonsoft parser to parse array if it got array or object if it got object?

If you have two JSON structures you need two classes to represent them. Otherwise, use the same structure regardless of `key3` and just use a single item inside the array. — Camilo Terevinto, Dec 18 '17 at 12:15
@CamiloTerevinto How can I tell parser to parse key7 allways as array, even if is returned as object? Or, in other case, how can I tell parser to use different classes depending on key3? — zonelsk, Dec 18 '17 at 12:22
Yes, you can use a `SingleOrArrayConverter` as shown in [How to handle both a single item and an array for the same property using JSON.net](https://stackoverflow.com/q/18994685/10263). Use `key7` as `T` instead of `string`. — Brian Rogers, Dec 18 '17 at 17:58

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Dec 18 '17 at 14:36

Short answer - don't do this if you can possibly avoid it. You'll save yourself lots of complexity by giving the array a different key name.

Long answer, you can do it, but it's painful. If anyone knows how to do with without re-serializing the j-objects that are generated (i.e. keeping the json alongside the deserialized objects), I'd love to know:

private static readonly string Json = "[\r\n  {\r\n    \"key1\": \"value\",\r\n    \"key2\": \"value\",\r\n    \"key3\": \"TYPE_ONE\",\r\n    \"extraData\": {\r\n      \"key4\": \"value\",\r\n      \"key5\": \"value\",\r\n      \"key6\": {\r\n        \"key7\": {\r\n          \"key8\": \"value\",\r\n          \"key9\": \"value\",\r\n          \"key10\": \"value\"\r\n        }\r\n      }\r\n    }\r\n  },\r\n  {\r\n    \"key1\": \"value\",\r\n    \"key2\": \"value\",\r\n    \"key3\": \"TYPE_TWO\",\r\n    \"extraData\": {\r\n      \"key4\": \"value\",\r\n      \"key5\": \"value\",\r\n      \"key6\": {\r\n        \"key7\": [\r\n          {\r\n            \"key8\": \"value\",\r\n            \"key9\": \"value\",\r\n            \"key10\": \"value\"\r\n          },\r\n          {\r\n            \"key8\": \"value1\",\r\n            \"key9\": \"value1\",\r\n            \"key10\": \"value1\"\r\n          },\r\n          {\r\n            \"key8\": \"value2\",\r\n            \"key9\": \"value2\",\r\n            \"key10\": \"value2\"\r\n          }\r\n        ]\r\n      }\r\n    }\r\n  }\r\n]";

private static void Deserialize()
{
    var switchers = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<JObject[]>(Json);
    var deserializedType1List = new List<TargetClass<Key6Type1>>();
    var deserializedType2List = new List<TargetClass<Key6Type2>>();
    foreach (var switcher in switchers)
    {
        if (switcher["key3"].Value<string>() == "TYPE_ONE")
        {
            deserializedType1List.Add(JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<TargetClass<Key6Type1>>(JsonConvert.SerializeObject(switcher)));
        }
        else
        {
            deserializedType2List.Add(JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<TargetClass<Key6Type2>>(JsonConvert.SerializeObject(switcher)));
        }
    }

    //Do something with the objects...
}

private class TargetClass<TKey6Type>
{
    public string key1 { get; set; }

    public string key2 { get; set; }

    public string key3 { get; set; }

    public ExtraData<TKey6Type> extraData { get; set; }
}

private class ExtraData<TKey6Type>
{
    public string key4 { get; set; }

    public string key5 { get; set; }

    public TKey6Type key6 { get; set; }
}

private class Key6Type2
{
    public Key7[] key7 { get; set; }
}

private class Key6Type1
{
    public Key7 key7 { get; set; }
}

private class Key7
{
    public string key8 { get; set; }
    public string key9 { get; set; }
    public string key10 { get; set; }
}

Newtonsoft JSON - different JSON structure, object vs array

1 Answers1