deserializing dynamic named JSON attributes to a C# class

Question

{
  "Documents": {
    "c97bba6f-c8ab-4453-91f8-f663f478910c": {
      "id": "c97bba6f-c8ab-4453-91f8-f663f478910c",
      "name": "name",
      "sys": {
        "c67bfa6f-c8ab-4453-91f8-f663f478910c": {
          "id": "c97bba6f-c8ab-4453-91f8-f663f478910c",
          "name": "sys name"
        },
        "a67bfa6f-c8ab-4453-91f8-f663f478910c": {
          "id": " a67bfa6f-c8ab-4453-91f8-f663f478910c",
          "name": "sys name"
        }
      }
    },
    "f97bba6f-c8ab-4453-91f8-f663f478910c": {
      "id": "c97bba6f-c8ab-4453-91f8-f663f478910c",
      "name": "OZL - B - MECH - AC - Fan Coil Units",
      "sys": {}
    }
  }
}

I've got JSON data in the form above and am having trouble deserializing this into a C# class. The trouble I'm having is that the GUID is used to define the object that the Documents object has rather than the documents object having a list of documents.

I've tried to create a documents object that has a list of object in it and deserialise into this using Newtonsoft. I've also tried a dictionary of string, object in the documents object. None of these work.

Any input or ideas would be most appreciated.

Edit: the biggest issue I'm having is the nesting of Dictionary<GUID, object>. Newtonsoft won't map to the dictionary within the first object. Here's what I have:

public class Documents {
   public dictionary<Guid, System> data { get; set; }
}

public class System {
   public Guid Id { get; set;}
   public string Name { get; set; }
   public dictionary<guid, someOtherobject> otherData { get; set;}
}

In general, you can use a Dictionary. -- Could you post a valid JSON with a structure that makes sense? — Jimi
– Jimi, Commented Apr 8, 2021 at 11:08
It's a dictionary < Guid, object>, as you can see the Id are the same — Drag and Drop
– Drag and Drop, Commented Apr 8, 2021 at 11:15
And btw if you try to anonymised some info make sure the result does not look like a Picaso. That's almost barbarism. If you have a valid Json you can use tool like app.quicktype.io . That will reconize the Dictionary a generate a nice class — Drag and Drop
– Drag and Drop, Commented Apr 8, 2021 at 11:24
Does this answer your question? How to auto-generate a C# class file from a JSON string — Drag and Drop
– Drag and Drop, Commented Apr 8, 2021 at 11:25
auto-generation of the class isn't an issue the issue is that the names of the objects are dynamic and that they have a collection of items that are also dynamic. — M Leipper
– M Leipper, Commented Apr 8, 2021 at 11:40

Brian Rogers · Accepted Answer · 2021-04-08 18:02:16Z

2

Based on your JSON, the class structure you need is this:

public class RootObject
{
    public Dictionary<Guid, Document> Documents { get; set; }
}

public class Document
{
    public Guid Id { get; set; }
    public string Name { get; set; }
    public Dictionary<Guid, Sys> Sys { get; set; }
}

public class Sys
{
    public Guid Id { get; set; }
    public string Name { get; set; }
}

Then deserialize into the RootObject class like this:

var root = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<RootObject>(json);

Here is a working demo: https://dotnetfiddle.net/Uycomw

answered Apr 8, 2021 at 18:02

Brian Rogers

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