DataContractJsonSerializer parsing iso 8601 date

Question

I have a json which has date as 2012-06-07T00:29:47.000 and has to be deserialized. But on

 DataContractJsonSerializer serializer = new DataContractJsonSerializer(type);
 return (object)serializer.ReadObject(Util.GetMemoryStreamFromString(json));

I get below exception

There was an error deserializing the object of type System.Collections.Generic.List`1
[[MyNameSpace.MyClass, MyNameSpace, Version=1.0.4541.23433, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null]].
 DateTime content '2012-06-07T00:29:47.000' does not start with '\/Date(' and end with ')\/' as required for JSON

It is working in windows mobile 7 but the same code is not working in windows 8.
It is expecting date format as \/Date(1337020200000+0530)\/ instead of 2012-06-07T00:29:47.000.

Does it require custom serialization if yes then how? And I can't use JSON.NET I'm bound to use DataContractJsonSerializer and I can't change the format of the JSON as the same JSON is used for android.
I'm new in .net. Thanks.

Answer 1

Use one string property for serialisation/deserialisation, and a separate, non-serialised property that converts it to a DateTime. Easier to see some sample code:

[DataContract]
public class LibraryBook
{
    [DataMember(Name = "ReturnDate")]
    // This can be private because it's only ever accessed by the serialiser.
    private string FormattedReturnDate { get; set; }

    // This attribute prevents the ReturnDate property from being serialised.
    [IgnoreDataMember]
    // This property is used by your code.
    public DateTime ReturnDate
    {
        // Replace "o" with whichever DateTime format specifier you need.
        // "o" gives you a round-trippable format which is ISO-8601-compatible.
        get { return DateTime.ParseExact(FormattedReturnDate, "o", CultureInfo.InvariantCulture); }
        set { FormattedReturnDate = value.ToString("o"); }
    }
}

You could do the parsing in the setter of FormattedReturnDate instead, to allow it to fail earlier if a bad date is received.

---

Edited to include GôTô's suggestion to give the serialised DataMember the right name.

Answer 2

Pass the format in DataContractJsonSerializer constructor

var serializer = new DataContractJsonSerializer(
   typeof(Client),
   new DataContractJsonSerializerSettings {
       DateTimeFormat = new DateTimeFormat("yyyy-MM-dd hh:mm:ss"),
    });