Returning JSON string from 3rd party API in ASP.Net MVC controller

Question

I'm wrapping a third-party API in a controller (due to security hoops we have to jump through) and the API returns a JSON string.

I do some minor changes to the JSON string and want to return that string.

I don't see a way to do that with a JSONResult, as it requires an object, and returning JSON string is sent back as a string.

Am I stuck with using something like a ContentResult?

JSONLint.com says the modified JSON is valid. It starts with...

[{"Acknowledgment Start Date":null,"Additional Location Details":null,"Area Code":null,"Assign To Vendor":"No",...

If I use the Newtonsoft.Json.JsonConvert(), it does this to my JSON string...

[[[[]],[[]],[[]],[[]],[[]],[[]],[[]],[[]],...

If I use JavaScriptSerializer, I get this again...

[[[[]],[[]],[[]],[[]],[[]],[[]],[[]],[[]],...

I suspect part of the problem is the null values in the JSON string.

Is there another solution? Are there issues with using a ContentResult that I'm not aware of?

Can you show us your code? How are you making changes to the JSON string? Are you using JObjects or a model? — Brian Rogers
– Brian Rogers, Commented Sep 12, 2019 at 22:29

Omar Himada · Accepted Answer · 2019-09-12 18:49:55Z

1

Newtonsoft.Json.JsonConvert() serializes an object, it doesn't parse (AKA deserialize) it. What you're doing when you call Newtonsoft.Json.JsonConvert(jsonString) is you're saying "serialize this JSON string to JSON". So, you get a funky result.

You could instead parse the JSON, then make your modifications, then serialize it again. For example:

var myObject = Newtonsoft.Json.DeserializeObject<POCOClass>(jsonString);
myObject.Whatever = "123";
//... etc.

This of course after defining your POCO class like such:

public class POCOClass {
    [JsonProperty(PropertyName = "Acknowledgment Start Date")]
    public string AcknowledgmentStartDate { get; set; }
    // etc.
}

Then when you're done, serialize it back:

jsonString = Newtonsoft.Json.JsonConvert(myObject) // or Newtonsoft.Json.SerializeObject(myObject)

answered Sep 12, 2019 at 18:49

Omar Himada

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2 Comments

Dortimer Over a year ago

Alternatively, if they want to use a JsonResult return type, they can also serialize the object with Json(myObject) (though it might require the JsonRequestBehavior parameter as well).

amber Over a year ago

Ultimately, it strikes me as redundant to get a JSON string and deserialize it so it can be represented as a string. That seems like a lot of unnecessary work.

amber · Accepted Answer · 2019-09-17 23:17:22Z

0

Upon closer inspection, I had a couple of realizations.

The first being that the outputted JSON isn't valid because the quoted identifiers include spaces and colons. For example, this one from above.

... ,"Additional Location Details":null, ...

While I suspect this is the root of problems, I don't have the time to write a parser to make it proper JSON.

I will come back and write a tool to properly clean up the mess at some point, but right now I have another approach I'm doing.

answered Sep 17, 2019 at 23:17

amber

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