Serialize .Net object to json, controlled using xml attributes

Question

I have a .Net object which I\'ve been serializing to Xml and is decorated with Xml attributes. I would now like to serialize the same object to Json, preferably using the N

Answer 1

You could create a custom contract resolver which would allow you to make adjustments to the properties and set them to ignore where an XmlIgnoreAttribute is set.

public class CustomContractResolver : DefaultContractResolver
{
    private readonly JsonMediaTypeFormatter formatter;

    public CustomContractResolver(JsonMediaTypeFormatter formatter)
    {
        this.formatter = formatter;
    }

    public JsonMediaTypeFormatter Formatter
    {
        [DebuggerStepThrough]
        get { return this.formatter; }
    }

    protected override JsonProperty CreateProperty(MemberInfo member, MemberSerialization memberSerialization)
    {
        JsonProperty property = base.CreateProperty(member, memberSerialization);
        this.ConfigureProperty(member, property);
        return property;
    }

    private void ConfigureProperty(MemberInfo member, JsonProperty property)
    {
        if (Attribute.IsDefined(member, typeof(XmlIgnoreAttribute), true))
        {
            property.Ignored = true;
        }            
    }
}

You can use apply this custom resolver by setting the ContractResolver property of the JsonSerializerSettings when serializing an object

https://www.newtonsoft.com/json/help/html/ContractResolver.htm

string json =
    JsonConvert.SerializeObject(
        product, // this is your object that has xml attributes on it that you want ignored
        Formatting.Indented,
        new JsonSerializerSettings { ContractResolver = new CustomResolver() }
        );

If you're using WebApi you can set it globally to apply to all contracts.

var config = GlobalConfiguration.Configuration;
var jsonSettings = config.Formatters.JsonFormatter.SerializerSettings;
jsonSettings.ContractResolver = new CustomContractResolver();