ASP.Net MVC: how to create a JsonResult based on raw Json Data

Question

Having a string containing the following raw Json data (simplified for the sake of the question):

  var MyString =  "{ 'val': 'apple' }";

How can I create a JsonResult object representing MyString?

I tried to use the Json(object) method. but it handles the raw json data as an string -logically :P-. So the returned HTTP response looks like:

"{ 'val': 'apple' }"

instead of the given raw Json Data:

{ 'val': 'apple' }

this is what I want to achieve:

Answer 1

The Json() method on Controller is actually a helper method that creates a new JsonResult. If we look at the source code for this class^*, we can see that it's not really doing that much -- just setting the content type to application/json, serializing your data object using a JavaScriptSerializer, and writing it the resulting string.. You can duplicate this behavior (minus the serialization, since you've already done that) by returning a ContentResult from your controller instead.

public ActionResult JsonData(int id) {
    var jsonStringFromSomewhere = "{ 'val': 'apple' }";
    // Content() creates a ContentResult just as Json() creates a JsonResult
    return Content(jsonStringFromSomewhere, "application/json");
}

---

^* Starting in MVC2, JsonResult also throws an exception if the user is making an HTTP GET request (as opposed to say a POST). Allowing users to retrieve JSON using an HTTP GET has security implications which you should be aware of before you permit this in your own app.