Using dynamic variables to get Json values

Question

I have a process that parses through similar but different json objects from different companies. For example:

COMPANY A Json looks like this:

{
   "str": "502 Oak Lane", 
   "city": "Los Angeles", 
   "st": "CA", 
   "zip": "91403"
}

COMPANY B Json looks like this:

{
   "streetaddress": "999 Orange Ave", 
   "cityname": "Los Angeles", 
   "statename": "CA", 
   "zipcode": "92039"
}

COMPANY C Json looks like this:

{
 "locations": [
  {
   "streetaddress": [
    "52 Pine Street"
   ], 
   "sublocality1": "Los Angeles", 
   "sublocality2": "CA", 
   "postal_code": "91403"
  }, 

  {
   "streetaddress": [
    "252 Main St"
   ], 
   "sublocality1": "Los Angeles", 
   "sublocality2": "CA", 
   "postal_code": "91403"
  }

 ] 
}

I also have Company D, E, F... and everybody formats their json a bit differently. I'm trying to write a generic parser to go through and get the 'city' from each of these objects. It's easy enough to do for Company A or company B.

string citynode = "$.city";  //ex. for Company A
string GetCity(jsoninputtext, citynode);
...

string citynode = "$.cityname";  //ex. for Company B
string GetCity(jsoninputtext, citynode);
...

function GetCity(string jsoninputtext, string citynode)
{
    var jsonDynamic = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<dynamic>(jsoninputtext);
    string city = (string)jsonDynamic.SelectToken(citynode).Value;
    return city;
}

However, I'm stuck with objects like Company C which have multiple locations or that are children of other nodes ('locations'). All I need to get is the FIRST 'city', I don't care about any subsequent ones but I don't know how to do this with my generic GetCity() function. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Just a side note, why do you need a generic parser for all formats? You can create a generic interface for parser and have a specific implementation for every source, it's easier to maintain in future and test — Pavel Anikhouski
– Pavel Anikhouski, Commented May 16, 2020 at 19:45

Brian Rogers · Accepted Answer · 2020-05-16 19:48:25Z

2

For Company C you can use the expression $.locations[0].sublocality1 to get the first city.

As an aside, you can simplify your code and get rid of the .Value. Casting the token to a string will work and will also eliminate the need for a null check if there aren't any locations. The city itself will be null in that case, which I think is what you would want.

string city = (string)jsonDynamic.SelectToken(citynode);

Fiddle: https://dotnetfiddle.net/g6HG0L

edited May 16, 2020 at 19:48

answered May 16, 2020 at 19:42

Brian Rogers

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Guru Stron · Accepted Answer · 2020-05-16 19:41:00Z

0

Not sure that it is the best option, but you can try something like this for start:

public static string GetCity(string jsoninputtext, string citynode)
{
    var x = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<JObject>(jsoninputtext);

    return x.DescendantsAndSelf()
        .First(t => t.SelectToken(citynode) != null)
        .SelectToken(citynode)
        .Value<string>();
}

answered May 16, 2020 at 19:41

Guru Stron

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