I want to know if it is possible to deserialize a JSON object that could either be an object or an array.
Similar to this question: Jackson deserialize object or array
But using JSON.Net.
Example
{
"response": {
"status":"success",
// Could be either a single object or an array of objects.
"data": {
"prop":"value"
}
// OR
"data": [
{"prop":"value"},
{"prop":"value"}
]
}
}
I think this solves your problem
string jsonString= "your json string";
var token = JToken.Parse(jsonString);
if (token is JArray)
{
IEnumerable<Car> cars= token.ToObject<List<Car>>();
}
else if (token is JObject)
{
Car car= token.ToObject<Car>();
}
An alternative would be to write our JsonConverter
and use it for deserializing so we can work with static types after conversion.
class JsonDataConverter : JsonConverter
{
public override bool CanWrite { get { return false; } }
public override bool CanConvert(Type objectType)
{
return objectType == typeof(Data);
}
public override object ReadJson(JsonReader reader, Type objectType, object existingValue, JsonSerializer serializer)
{
var token = JToken.ReadFrom(reader);
if (token is JArray)
return new Data(token.Select(t => t["prop"].ToString()));
if (token is JObject)
return new Data(new[] { token["prop"].ToString() });
throw new NotSupportedException();
}
public override void WriteJson(JsonWriter writer, object value, JsonSerializer serializer)
{
throw new NotImplementedException();
}
}
[JsonConverter(typeof(JsonDataConverter))]
class Data:List<string>
{
public Data() : base() { }
public Data(IEnumerable<string> data) : base(data) { }
}
class Response
{
public string Status { get; set; }
public Data Data { get; set; }
}
and an example:
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
var inputObj = @"{
'response': {
'status':'success',
// Could be either a single object or an array of objects.
'data': { 'prop':'value'}
}
}";
var inputArray = @"{
'response': {
'status':'success',
// Could be either a single object or an array of objects.
'data':[
{ 'prop':'value'},
{ 'prop':'value'}
]
}
}";
var obj = JsonConvert.DeserializeAnonymousType(inputObj, new { Response = new Response() });
foreach(var prop in obj.Response.Data)
Console.WriteLine(prop);
var arr = JsonConvert.DeserializeAnonymousType(inputArray, new { Response = new Response() });
foreach (var prop in arr.Response.Data)
Console.WriteLine(prop);
}
}
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