c# - Deserializing JSON to abstract class

Question

I am trying to deserialize a JSON string to a concrete class, which inherits from an abstract class, but I just can't get it working. I have googled and tried some solutions but they don't seem to work either.

This is what I have now:

abstract class AbstractClass { }

class ConcreteClass { }

public AbstractClass Decode(string jsonString)
{
    JsonSerializerSettings jss = new JsonSerializerSettings();
    jss.TypeNameHandling = TypeNameHandling.All;
    return (AbstractClass)JsonConvert.DeserializeObject(jsonString, null, jss);
}

However, if I try to cast the resulting object, it just doesn't work.

The reason why I don't use DeserializeObject is that I have many concrete classes.

Any suggestions?

• I am using Newtonsoft.Json

Answer 1

One may not want to use TypeNameHandling (because one wants more compact json or wants to use a specific name for the type variable other than "$type"). Meanwhile, the customCreationConverter approach will not work if one wants to deserialize the base class into any of multiple derived classes without knowing which one to use in advance.

An alternative is to use an int or other type in the base class and define a JsonConverter.

[JsonConverter(typeof(BaseConverter))]
abstract class Base
{
    public int ObjType { get; set; }
    public int Id { get; set; }
}

class DerivedType1 : Base
{
    public string Foo { get; set; }
}

class DerivedType2 : Base
{
    public string Bar { get; set; }
}

The JsonConverter for the base class can then deserialize the object based on its type. The complication is that to avoid a stack overflow (where the JsonConverter repeatedly calls itself), a custom contract resolver must be used during this deserialization.

public class BaseSpecifiedConcreteClassConverter : DefaultContractResolver
{
    protected override JsonConverter ResolveContractConverter(Type objectType)
    {
        if (typeof(Base).IsAssignableFrom(objectType) && !objectType.IsAbstract)
            return null; // pretend TableSortRuleConvert is not specified (thus avoiding a stack overflow)
        return base.ResolveContractConverter(objectType);
    }
}

public class BaseConverter : JsonConverter
{
    static JsonSerializerSettings SpecifiedSubclassConversion = new JsonSerializerSettings() { ContractResolver = new BaseSpecifiedConcreteClassConverter() };

    public override bool CanConvert(Type objectType)
    {
        return (objectType == typeof(Base));
    }

    public override object ReadJson(JsonReader reader, Type objectType, object existingValue, JsonSerializer serializer)
    {
        JObject jo = JObject.Load(reader);
        switch (jo["ObjType"].Value<int>())
        {
            case 1:
                return JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<DerivedType1>(jo.ToString(), SpecifiedSubclassConversion);
            case 2:
                return JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<DerivedType2>(jo.ToString(), SpecifiedSubclassConversion);
            default:
                throw new Exception();
        }
        throw new NotImplementedException();
    }

    public override bool CanWrite
    {
        get { return false; }
    }

    public override void WriteJson(JsonWriter writer, object value, JsonSerializer serializer)
    {
        throw new NotImplementedException(); // won't be called because CanWrite returns false
    }
}

That's it. Now you can use serialize/deserialize any derived class. You can also use the base class in other classes and serialize/deserialize those without any additional work:

class Holder
    {
        public List<Base> Objects { get; set; }
    }
string json = @"
        [
            {
                ""Objects"" : 
                [
                    { ""ObjType"": 1, ""Id"" : 1, ""Foo"" : ""One"" },
                    { ""ObjType"": 1, ""Id"" : 2, ""Foo"" : ""Two"" },
                ]
            },
            {
                ""Objects"" : 
                [
                    { ""ObjType"": 2, ""Id"" : 3, ""Bar"" : ""Three"" },
                    { ""ObjType"": 2, ""Id"" : 4, ""Bar"" : ""Four"" },
                ]
            },
        ]";

            List<Holder> list = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<List<Holder>>(json);
            string serializedAgain = JsonConvert.SerializeObject(list);
            Debug.WriteLine(serializedAgain);