Some time ago I needed a custom generic json-converter which automatically would convert object to collection if needed. My solution was:
public class SingleValueCollectionConverter<T> : JsonConverter
{
public override void WriteJson(JsonWriter writer, object value, JsonSerializer serializer)
{
throw new NotImplementedException();
}
public override object ReadJson(JsonReader reader, Type objectType, object existingValue, JsonSerializer serializer)
{
return reader.TokenType == JsonToken.StartArray ? serializer.Deserialize(reader, objectType) : new List<T> { (T)serializer.Deserialize(reader, typeof(T)) };
}
public override bool CanConvert(Type objectType)
{
return true;
}
}
It worked fine until I've got the situation when I needed to use it for the property with generic type. I've got an error for using it like this:
[JsonConverter(typeof(SingleValueCollectionConverter<TData>))]
public List<TData> Data { get; set; }
It turned out that generic parameters cannot appear in attribute declarations. I found this pull-request to newtonsoftJsonConverter - https://github.com/JamesNK/Newtonsoft.Json/issues/1332 where the decision was suggested but it was not approved by the author. So, I created non-generic converter which works universally like generic with the help of reflection:
public class SingleValueCollectionConverter : JsonConverter
{
public override void WriteJson(JsonWriter writer, object value, JsonSerializer serializer)
{
throw new NotImplementedException();
}
public override object ReadJson(JsonReader reader, Type objectType, object existingValue, JsonSerializer serializer)
{
foreach (var prop in objectType.GetProperties())
{
var type = prop.PropertyType;
if (!type.IsClass)
continue;
var destination = Activator.CreateInstance(objectType);
var result = reader.TokenType == JsonToken.StartArray
? serializer.Deserialize(reader, objectType)
: new List<object> { serializer.Deserialize(reader, type) };
return Mapper.Map(result, destination, result.GetType(), destination.GetType());
}
return null;
}
public override bool CanConvert(Type objectType)
{
return true;
}
}
Using like this:
[JsonConverter(typeof(SingleValueCollectionConverter))]
public List<TData> Data { get; set; }
It works fine, but maybe somebody has better decision. I'll be appreciated for any suggestions.
