JsonApiSerializer

The JsonApiSerializer provides configurationless serializing and deserializing objects into the json:api format.

It is implemented as an JsonSerializerSettings for Json.Net with usage being the standard Json.Net methods passing in a JsonApiSerializerSettings

//To serialize a POCO in json:api format
string json = JsonConvert.SerializeObject(articles, new JsonApiSerializerSettings());

//To deserialize to a POCO from json:api format
Article[] articles = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<Article[]>(json, new JsonApiSerializerSettings());

Example

Given an object model like:

public class Article
{
    public string Id { get; set; }

    public string Title { get; set; }

    public Person Author { get; set; }

    public List<Comment> Comments { get; set; }
}

public class Comment
{
    public string Id { get; set; }

    public string Body { get; set; }

    public Person Author { get; set; }
}

public class Person
{
    public string Id { get; set; }

    [JsonProperty(propertyName: "first-name")] //uses standard Json.NET attributes to control serialization
    public string FirstName { get; set; }

    [JsonProperty(propertyName: "last-name")]
    public string LastName { get; set; }

    public string Twitter { get; set; }
}

Deserialization

and json:api content that look something like

{
  "data": [{
    "type": "articles",
    "id": "1",
    "attributes": {
        "title": "JSON API paints my bikeshed!"
    },
    "relationships": {
      "author": {
        "data": { "type": "people", "id": "9" }
      },
      "comments": {
        "data": [
          { "type": "comments", "id": "5" },
          { "type": "comments", "id": "12" }
        ]
      }
    }
  }],
  "included": [{
    "type": "people",
    "id": "9",
    "attributes": {
      "first-name": "Dan",
      "last-name": "Gebhardt",
      "twitter": "dgeb"
    },
  }, {
    "type": "comments",
    "id": "5",
    "attributes": {
      "body": "First!"
    },
    "relationships": {
      "author": {
        "data": { "type": "people", "id": "2" }
      }
    },
  }, {
    "type": "comments",
    "id": "12",
    "attributes": {
      "body": "I like XML better"
    },
    "relationships": {
      "author": {
        "data": { "type": "people", "id": "9" }
      }
    },
  }]
}

We can deserialize with

Article[] articles = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<Article[]>(json, new JsonApiSerializerSettings());

Serialization

We can also generate the JSON from our object model

var author = new Person
{
    Id = "9",
    FirstName = "Dan",
    LastName = "Gebhardt",
    Twitter = "dgeb",
};

var articles = new[] {
    new Article
    {
        Id = "1",
        Title = "JSON API paints my bikeshed!",
        Author = author,
        Comments = new List<Comment>
        {
            new Comment
            {
                Id = "5",
                Body = "First!",
                Author = new Person
                {
                    Id = "2"
                },
            },
            new Comment
            {
                Id = "12",
                Body = "I like XML better",
                Author = author,
            }
        }
    }
};

//will produce the same json:api json value
string json = JsonConvert.SerializeObject(articles, new JsonApiSerializerSettings());

Extracting more properties

json:api allows for additional information to be stored at objects and relationships, We provide some helper classes that allows you to access these properties.

DocumentRoot

DocumentRoot<TData> allows you to get and set json:api values at the root document level

{
	"jsonapi": {
		"version":"1.0"
	},
	"links": {
		"self": "http://example.com/articles",
	},
	"meta": {
		"created": "2017-04-02T23:28:35"
	},
	"data": [{
  		"id" : "1",
		"type": "articles",
		"attributes": {
	  		"title": "document root example"
		}
	}]
}

DocumentRoot<Article[]> articlesRoot = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<DocumentRoot<Article[]>>(json, new JsonApiSerializerSettings());
Assert.Equal("1.0" articlesRoot.JsonApi.Version);
Assert.Equal("http://example.com/articles", articlesRoot.Links["self"].Href);
Assert.Equal("2017-04-02T23:28:35", articlesRoot.Meta["self"]["created"]);

Relationships

Relationship<TData> can be used in an object to get and set additional json:api around relationships such as links or meta

{
	"data": [{
		"type": "articles",
		"id": "1",
		"attributes": {
			"title": "JSON API paints my bikeshed!"
		},
		"relationships": {
			"author": {
				"links": {
				  "self": "http://example.com/articles/1/relationships/author",
				  "related": "http://example.com/articles/1/author"
				},
				"data": { "type": "people", "id": "9" }
			}
		}
	}]
}

public class Article
{
    public string Id { get; set; }

    public string Title { get; set; }

    public Relationship<Person> Author { get; set; }
}

Article[] articles = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<Article[]>(json, new JsonApiSerializerSettings());
Assert.Equal("http://example.com/articles/1/relationships/author", articles[0].links["self"].Href);
Assert.Equal("http://example.com/articles/1/author", articles[0].links["related"].Href);

Links

Link can be used to store link values. json:api supports links as either a string or as an object. JsonApiSerializer normalizes this behaviour so in the object model they are always an object.

A Links class is also provided to store a dictionary of links that is typically stored on json:api objects

Types

If you dont specify a type property on your object model JsonApiSerializer will use the class name. If you want to modify this behaviour it is as simple as putting a Type property on a class

public class Person
{
	public string Type { get; set; } = "people"; //sets type to "people"

	public string Id { get; set; }

	[JsonProperty(propertyName: "first-name")]
	public string FirstName { get; set; }

	[JsonProperty(propertyName: "last-name")]
	public string LastName { get; set; }

	public string Twitter { get; set; }
}

Determining relationship objects

By default any class with an "Id" is considered a Resource Object, and it will be treated as a relationship during serialization and deserialization.

This can be overrided during initialization by providing your own JsonConverter (it is strongly recommneded you extend ResourceObjectConverter) when you create the JsonApiSerializerSettings. Your custom 'JsonConverter can override the `CanConvert(Type type)' method.

var settings = new JsonApiSerializerSettings(new MyOwnJsonSerializer())
Article[] articles = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<Article[]>(json, settings);

summerflavor/JsonApiSerializer