Replace default JSON serializer in WCF 4 to JSON.NET

Question

I want to replace the default WCF JSON (for all data types) serialization with JSON.NET. I\'ve searched all over the net and couldn\'t find a working solution.

This

Answer 1

Anyway, I figured out a way to use a different serializer, manually, seems its more efficient and faster because it doesn't pass through Microsoft's serializer, although code wise it's a bit messier.

1. Set all return types as "System.ServiceModel.Channels.Message" in your Interfaces and classes implementing them.

   [OperationContract]
   [WebGet(BodyStyle = WebMessageBodyStyle.Bare, ResponseFormat = WebMessageFormat.Json)]
   System.ServiceModel.Channels.Message GetData(); 
   

2. Create an extension method so you could easily build a memory stream out of an object, using the JSON.NET serializer (or whichever you want to use).

   public static System.ServiceModel.Channels.Message GetJsonStream(this object obj)
   {
       //Serialize JSON.NET
       string jsonSerialized = JsonConvert.SerializeObject(obj);
   
       //Create memory stream
       MemoryStream memoryStream = new MemoryStream(new UTF8Encoding().GetBytes(jsonSerialized));
   
       //Set position to 0
       memoryStream.Position = 0;
   
       //return Message
       return WebOperationContext.Current.CreateStreamResponse(memoryStream, "application/json");
   }
   

3. In the method's body, return the object serialized directly to the stream

   return yourObject.GetJsonStream();