C# Serialize Object to JSON Newtonsoft

In this blog post, you will learn how to serialize and deserialize JSON objects using the Newtonsoft library with an example in C#. Keep reading on What is the difference between abstract class and interface in C#, How to check the .net framework version.

What is JSON?

JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is a lightweight data-interchange format. It is easy for humans to read and write and easy for machines to parse and generate. JSON is a text format that is completely language independent.

JSON supports the following two data structures,

Collection of name/value pairs and,
An ordered list of values.

How to Serialize and Deserialize objects using NewtonSoft JSON

Let’s create a console-based application to understand how to serialize an object to JSON NewtonSoft and NewtonSoft JSON Deserialize using C#.

Now you need to install the Newtonsoft JSON using Nuget Package in the application. You can visit to find the latest package https://www.nuget.org/packages/newtonsoft.json/.

Run the below command to install Newtonsoft JSON from the package mange console as shown below:-

Install-Package Newtonsoft.Json -Version 12.0.3

Now find the below example to implement Newtonsoft JSON serialization and deserialization:-

Program.cs

using Newtonsoft.Json;
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.IO;

namespace ConsoleAppNewtonsoft
{
    class Program
    {
        const string filePath = @"c:\data\json.txt";
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            var product = new Product
            {
                Name = "eBooks",
                SerialNumbers = new List<int> { 101, 102, 103, 104 }
            };

            Console.WriteLine("Object before serialization:");
            Console.WriteLine("----------------------------");
            Console.WriteLine();

            product.Show();

            Serialize(product);

            var deserialized = Deserialize(filePath);

            Console.WriteLine("Deserialized (json) string:");
            Console.WriteLine("---------------------------");
            Console.WriteLine();
            Console.WriteLine(deserialized);
        }

        public static void Serialize(object obj)
        {
            var serializer = new JsonSerializer();

            using (var sw = new StreamWriter(filePath))
            using (JsonWriter writer = new JsonTextWriter(sw))
            {
                serializer.Serialize(writer, obj);
            }
        }

        public static object Deserialize(string path)
        {
            var serializer = new JsonSerializer();

            using (var sw = new StreamReader(path))
            using (var reader = new JsonTextReader(sw))
            {
                return serializer.Deserialize(reader);
            }
        }
    }
}

Product.cs

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;

namespace ConsoleAppNewtonsoft
{
    public class Product
    {
        public string Name { get; set; }
        public List<int> SerialNumbers { get; set; }
        public void Show()
        {
            Console.WriteLine("Name: " + Name);
            Console.WriteLine("Serial Numbers: " + string.Join<int>(",", SerialNumbers));
            Console.WriteLine();
            Console.WriteLine();
        }
    }
}

Download Source Code

Conclusion

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