How do I turn a C# object into a JSON string in .NET?

I have classes like these:

class MyDate
{
int year, month, day;
}

class Lad
{
string firstName;
string lastName;
MyDate dateOfBirth;
}

And I would like to turn a `Lad` object into a **JSON** string like this:

{
"firstName":"Markoff",
"lastName":"Chaney",
"dateOfBirth":
{
"year":"1901",
"month":"4",
"day":"30"
}
}

(Without the formatting). I found [this link][1], but it uses a namespace that's not in **.NET 4**. I also heard about [JSON.NET][2], but their site seems to be down at the moment, and I'm not keen on using external DLL files.

Are there other options besides manually creating a **JSON** string writer?

[1]:

[To see links please register here]

[2]:

[To see links please register here]

Wooou! Really better using a JSON framework :)

Here is my example using Json.NET (

[To see links please register here]

):


using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Text;
using Newtonsoft.Json;
using System.IO;

namespace com.blogspot.jeanjmichel.jsontest.model
{
public class Contact
{
private Int64 id;
private String name;
List<Address> addresses;

public Int64 Id
{
set { this.id = value; }
get { return this.id; }
}

public String Name
{
set { this.name = value; }
get { return this.name; }
}

public List<Address> Addresses
{
set { this.addresses = value; }
get { return this.addresses; }
}

public String ToJSONRepresentation()
{
StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
JsonWriter jw = new JsonTextWriter(new StringWriter(sb));

jw.Formatting = Formatting.Indented;
jw.WriteStartObject();
jw.WritePropertyName("id");
jw.WriteValue(this.Id);
jw.WritePropertyName("name");
jw.WriteValue(this.Name);

jw.WritePropertyName("addresses");
jw.WriteStartArray();

int i;
i = 0;

for (i = 0; i < addresses.Count; i++)
{
jw.WriteStartObject();
jw.WritePropertyName("id");
jw.WriteValue(addresses[i].Id);
jw.WritePropertyName("streetAddress");
jw.WriteValue(addresses[i].StreetAddress);
jw.WritePropertyName("complement");
jw.WriteValue(addresses[i].Complement);
jw.WritePropertyName("city");
jw.WriteValue(addresses[i].City);
jw.WritePropertyName("province");
jw.WriteValue(addresses[i].Province);
jw.WritePropertyName("country");
jw.WriteValue(addresses[i].Country);
jw.WritePropertyName("postalCode");
jw.WriteValue(addresses[i].PostalCode);
jw.WriteEndObject();
}

jw.WriteEndArray();

jw.WriteEndObject();

return sb.ToString();
}

public Contact()
{
}

public Contact(Int64 id, String personName, List<Address> addresses)
{
this.id = id;
this.name = personName;
this.addresses = addresses;
}

public Contact(String JSONRepresentation)
{
//To do
}
}
}

The test:

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using com.blogspot.jeanjmichel.jsontest.model;

namespace com.blogspot.jeanjmichel.jsontest.main
{
public class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
List<Address> addresses = new List<Address>();
addresses.Add(new Address(1, "Rua Dr. Fernandes Coelho, 85", "15º andar", "São Paulo", "São Paulo", "Brazil", "05423040"));
addresses.Add(new Address(2, "Avenida Senador Teotônio Vilela, 241", null, "São Paulo", "São Paulo", "Brazil", null));

Contact contact = new Contact(1, "Ayrton Senna", addresses);

Console.WriteLine(contact.ToJSONRepresentation());
Console.ReadKey();
}
}
}

The result:

{
"id": 1,
"name": "Ayrton Senna",
"addresses": [
{
"id": 1,
"streetAddress": "Rua Dr. Fernandes Coelho, 85",
"complement": "15º andar",
"city": "São Paulo",
"province": "São Paulo",
"country": "Brazil",
"postalCode": "05423040"
},
{
"id": 2,
"streetAddress": "Avenida Senador Teotônio Vilela, 241",
"complement": null,
"city": "São Paulo",
"province": "São Paulo",
"country": "Brazil",
"postalCode": null
}
]
}

Now I will implement the constructor method that will receives a JSON string and populates the class' fields.

**Serializer**

public static void WriteToJsonFile<T>(string filePath, T objectToWrite, bool append = false) where T : new()
{
var contentsToWriteToFile = JsonConvert.SerializeObject(objectToWrite, new JsonSerializerSettings
{
Formatting = Formatting.Indented,
});
using (var writer = new StreamWriter(filePath, append))
{
writer.Write(contentsToWriteToFile);
}
}

**Object**

namespace MyConfig
{
public class AppConfigurationSettings
{
public AppConfigurationSettings()
{
/* initialize the object if you want to output a new document
* for use as a template or default settings possibly when
* an app is started.
*/
if (AppSettings == null) { AppSettings=new AppSettings();}
}

public AppSettings AppSettings { get; set; }
}

public class AppSettings
{
public bool DebugMode { get; set; } = false;
}
}

**Implementation**

var jsonObject = new AppConfigurationSettings();
WriteToJsonFile<AppConfigurationSettings>(file.FullName, jsonObject);

**Output**

{
"AppSettings": {
"DebugMode": false
}
}

Use the `DataContractJsonSerializer` class: [MSDN1](

[To see links please register here]

), [MSDN2](

[To see links please register here]

).

My example: [HERE](

[To see links please register here]

).

It can also safely deserialize objects from a JSON string, unlike `JavaScriptSerializer`. But personally I still prefer [Json.NET](

[To see links please register here]

).

If you are in an ASP.NET MVC web controller it's as simple as:

string ladAsJson = Json(Lad);

Can't believe no one has mentioned this.

Use [Json.Net][1] library, you can download it from Nuget Packet Manager.


[1]:

[To see links please register here]

**Serializing to Json String:**

var obj = new Lad
{
firstName = "Markoff",
lastName = "Chaney",
dateOfBirth = new MyDate
{
year = 1901,
month = 4,
day = 30
}
};

var jsonString = Newtonsoft.Json.JsonConvert.SerializeObject(obj);

**Deserializing to Object:**

var obj = Newtonsoft.Json.JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<Lad>(jsonString );