Deserialize JSON with C#

ricmrodrigues

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14 Jun 2011CPOL1 min read

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Convert a JSON string to a List of C# Objects

Introduction

The motive for this howto is, you have a JSON string, and you want to convert it, not to an C# Object, but to a List<> of that same type, and the .NET Framework doesn't give you the tools to do it out-of-the-box. Here you can see how to do it.

Using the code

You're using jQuery or any other way of making XHRs, making some fancy ajax requests, but tired of Request["setting"] to get data from client-side, starving for a strong-typed approach? STOP! I've got just what you need, and supports single object, and even lists of objects (arrays)!

Example:

Single: { "field1":"value1","field2":"value2" }
Array: [ { "field1":"value1","field2":"value2" }, { "field1":"value1","field2":"value2" } ]

For the single, the .NET Framework has the key, you need to create a class that has public fields or properties matching the field names on your JSON string, example:

public class Test
{
  public string field1 { get; set; }
  public string field2 { get; set; } 
}

And the code to serialize your Single JSON is this:

Test myDeserializedObj = (Test)JavaScriptConvert.DeserializeObject(Request["jsonString"], typeof(Test));

and voilá! You got yourself a strong-typed object with client-side data, sweet!

But and if I want a list of data of the same type, say an Array, how is it done? The .NET Framework hasn't got the answer for this one..
You have to download and reference the following DLL
Once it's done:

List<test> myDeserializedObjList = (List<test>)Newtonsoft.Json.JsonConvert.DeserializeObject(Request["jsonString"], typeof(List<test>));

and yes! you're done :)
How easy is this? It's perfect for your lightweight ajax applications with .NET backend.

Points of Interest

Simple and effective way of mixing JSON with .NET