How Can I Serialize/Deserialize JSON.Net Properties as Values Instead of Objects?

Json.Net: Handling Properties as Values Instead of Objects

When using JSON.Net to represent complex objects, such as the Car and StringId classes described in the introduction, it is sometimes desirable to serialize/deserialize properties as plain values rather than nested objects. This article demonstrates two approaches to achieving this: type converters and JSON converters.

Type Converters

Adding a type converter specifically for the StringId class will enable JSON.Net to convert it to/from a string during serialization/deserialization:

[TypeConverter(typeof(StringIdConverter))]
class StringId
{
    public string Value { get; set; }
}

class StringIdConverter : TypeConverter
{
    // ... (Implement CanConvertFrom, CanConvertTo, ConvertFrom, and ConvertTo)
}

JSON Converters

Alternatively, JSON converters offer more control over the conversion process. By applying a custom JSON converter to the StringId class, the serialization and deserialization logic can be explicitly defined:

[JsonConverter(typeof(StringIdConverter))]
class StringId
{
    public string Value { get; set; }
}

class StringIdConverter : JsonConverter
{
    // ... (Implement CanConvert, ReadJson, and WriteJson)
}

Global Converter Configuration

JSON converters can also be set globally. For example, to handle all properties of type StringId as values:

JsonConvert.DefaultSettings = () => new JsonSerializerSettings
{
    Converters = { new StringIdConverter() }
};

Additional Considerations

• In .Net Core, type converter support requires JSON.Net 10.0.1 or later.
• In portable builds of JSON.Net, type converter support is not available as of version 10.0.3.
• When working with numeric or date/time data in the string representation, it is crucial to use the provided culture to ensure portability across cultures.

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