Dictionary in Json C#

Question

Here is how I call the method:

{"email":"xxx@hotmail.com","json":{"some1":"some1", "id":1},"yyy":"yyy"}

And my method has these parameters:

MyMethod(string email, Dictionary<string, object> json, string timestamp){...}

And when I call it with the above mentioned parameters, the method is being called but 'json' doesn't contain nothing. Its count is 0. Why is this happening? How to solve it?

it would help if you show us *how* you call the method... – epoch Mar 12 '12 at 12:05 — epoch, Mar 12 '12 at 12:05
@epoch I call it via Fiddler. Those are the parameters. – petko_stankoski Mar 12 '12 at 12:07 — petko_stankoski, Mar 12 '12 at 12:07

score 1 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 10:24

The default JSON serializer does not support this out of the box, however JSON.NET and the System.Web.Script.Serialization.JavaScriptSerializer support this, check the answers to a similar question:
How can I deserialize JSON to a simple Dictionary<string,string> in ASP.NET?

JSON.NET will be the default json serializer for ASP.NET 4.5 WebAPI, so you can expect it to be shipped with ASP.NET + get support from MS for it.

UPDATE
In order to let ASP.NET bind the model properly you need a custom model binder:

 public class DictionaryModelBinder : IModelBinder
  {
    public object BindModel(ControllerContext controllerContext, ModelBindingContext bindingContext)
    {
      var serializer = new JavaScriptSerializer();
      var value = controllerContext.RequestContext.HttpContext.Request.Form["json"];
      return serializer.Deserialize<Dictionary<string, object>>(HttpUtility.UrlDecode(value));
    }
  }

And add the new model binder to the Application model binders in the Application_Start method:

  protected void Application_Start()
  {          
    ModelBinders.Binders.Add(typeof (Dictionary<string, object>), new DictionaryModelBinder());
    RegisterRoutes(RouteTable.Routes);
  }

you need to change the type, the method signatiure needs to look like this: `MyMethod(string email, string json, string timestamp)`, afterwards use the code provided in the other answers — ntziolis, Mar 12 '12 at 12:12
then you need a custom model binder, I have updated the answer to include some sample code — ntziolis, Mar 12 '12 at 12:28

Dictionary in Json C#

1 Answers1