Convert datatable to JSON in C#

Question

1. I want to get records from database into a DataTable.
2. Then convert the DataTable into a JSON object.
3. Return the JSON object to my JavaScript function.

I use this code by calling:

string result = JsonConvert.SerializeObject(DatatableToDictionary(queryResult, "Title"), Newtonsoft.Json.Formatting.Indented);

To convert a DataTable to JSON, it works correctly and return the following:

{
    "1": {
    "viewCount": 703,
    "clickCount": 98
    },
    "2": {
    "viewCount": 509,
    "clickCount": 85
    },
    "3": {
    "viewCount": 578,
    "clickCount": 86
    },
    "4": {
    "viewCount": 737,
    "clickCount": 108
    },
    "5": {
    "viewCount": 769,
    "clickCount": 130
    }
} 

But I would like it to return the following:

{"records":[
{
"Title": 1,
"viewCount": 703,
"clickCount": 98
},
{
"Title": 2,
"viewCount": 509,
"clickCount": 85
},
{
"Title": 3,
"viewCount": 578,
"clickCount": 86
},
{
"Title": 4,
"viewCount": 737,
"clickCount": 108
},
{
"Title": 5,
"viewCount": 769,
"clickCount": 130
}
]} 

How can I do this?

Answer 1

This code snippet from Convert Datatable to JSON String in C#, VB.NET might help you. It uses System.Web.Script.Serialization.JavaScriptSerializer to serialize the contents to JSON format:

public string ConvertDataTabletoString()
{
    DataTable dt = new DataTable();
    using (SqlConnection con = new SqlConnection("Data Source=SureshDasari;Initial Catalog=master;Integrated Security=true"))
    {
        using (SqlCommand cmd = new SqlCommand("select title=City,lat=latitude,lng=longitude,description from LocationDetails", con))
        {
            con.Open();
            SqlDataAdapter da = new SqlDataAdapter(cmd);
            da.Fill(dt);
            System.Web.Script.Serialization.JavaScriptSerializer serializer = new System.Web.Script.Serialization.JavaScriptSerializer();
            List<Dictionary<string, object>> rows = new List<Dictionary<string, object>>();
            Dictionary<string, object> row;
            foreach (DataRow dr in dt.Rows)
            {
                row = new Dictionary<string, object>();
                foreach (DataColumn col in dt.Columns)
                {
                    row.Add(col.ColumnName, dr[col]);
                }
                rows.Add(row);
            }
            return serializer.Serialize(rows);
        }
    }
}

Answer 2

We can accomplish the task in two simple way one is using Json.NET dll and another is by using StringBuilder class.

Using Newtonsoft Json.NET

string JSONresult;
JSONresult = JsonConvert.SerializeObject(dt);  
Response.Write(JSONresult);

Reference Link: Newtonsoft: Convert DataTable to JSON object in ASP.Net C#

Using StringBuilder

public string DataTableToJsonObj(DataTable dt)
{
    DataSet ds = new DataSet();
    ds.Merge(dt);
    StringBuilder JsonString = new StringBuilder();
    if (ds != null && ds.Tables[0].Rows.Count > 0)
    {
        JsonString.Append("[");
        for (int i = 0; i < ds.Tables[0].Rows.Count; i++)
        {
            JsonString.Append("{");
            for (int j = 0; j < ds.Tables[0].Columns.Count; j++)
            {
                if (j < ds.Tables[0].Columns.Count - 1)
                {
                    JsonString.Append("\"" + ds.Tables[0].Columns[j].ColumnName.ToString() + "\":" + "\"" + ds.Tables[0].Rows[i][j].ToString() + "\",");
                }
                else if (j == ds.Tables[0].Columns.Count - 1)
                {
                    JsonString.Append("\"" + ds.Tables[0].Columns[j].ColumnName.ToString() + "\":" + "\"" + ds.Tables[0].Rows[i][j].ToString() + "\"");
                }
            }
            if (i == ds.Tables[0].Rows.Count - 1)
            {
                JsonString.Append("}");
            }
            else
            {
                JsonString.Append("},");
            }
        }
        JsonString.Append("]");
        return JsonString.ToString();
    }
    else
    {
        return null;
    }
}

Answer 3

This has similar approach to the accepted answer, but uses LINQ to convert datatable to list in a single line of code.

//convert datatable to list using LINQ. Input datatable is "dt", returning list of "name:value" tuples
var lst = dt.AsEnumerable()
    .Select(r => r.Table.Columns.Cast<DataColumn>()
            .Select(c => new KeyValuePair<string, object>(c.ColumnName, r[c.Ordinal])
           ).ToDictionary(z=>z.Key,z=>z.Value)
    ).ToList();
//now serialize it
var serializer = new System.Web.Script.Serialization.JavaScriptSerializer();
return serializer.Serialize(lst);

This is an incredibly useful way to enumerate a datatable, which would normally take a ton of coding! Here are some variations:

//convert to list with array of values for each row
var list1 = dt.AsEnumerable().Select(r => r.ItemArray.ToList()).ToList();

//convert to list of first column values only
var list2 = dt.AsEnumerable().Select(r => r.ItemArray[0]).ToList();

// parse a datatable with conditions and get CSV string
string MalesOver21 = string.Join(",",
    dt.AsEnumerable()
      .Where(r => r["GENDER"].ToString()=="M" && r.Field<int>("AGE")>21)
      .Select(r => r.Field<string>("FULLNAME"))
 );

This is off topic to the original question but for completeness sake, I'd mention that if you just want to filter out rows from an existing datatable, See this answer