Serializing List to JSON in C# creates backslashes in front of quotes
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Serializing List to JSON in C# creates backslashes in front of quotes
I am trying to serialize a List in C# and it is mostly working fine except that it creates backslashes in front of the double quotes. I have read online that this is a result from serializing the data twice and I have tried different approaches to removing the backslashes but they are not really working for me.
C# code (Using NewtonSoft.Json Library):
List<string> list_element_object = new List<string>();
foreach (var list_element in total_lists)
{
/* Code to get all of the 'element_lists' data
Which is eventually used to create the 'columns' data below */
var columns = new Dictionary<string, string>
{
{"@type", "Element_Lists" },
{"Name", Element_List_Name },
{"Description", Element_List_Description},
{"URL", Element_URL }
};
var serialized = JsonConvert.SerializeObject(columns);
// Add the serialized object to the list
list_element_object.Add(serialized);
}
// Serlialize the list containing the data and store into a ViewBag variable to use in a View
ViewBag.Element_Data_Raw = JsonConvert.SerializeObject(list_element_object);
Output:
"{"@type":"Elements","Name":"Some_Element_Name","Description":"Some_Element_Description","URL":"Some_Element_URL"}"
Expected Output:
"{"@type":"Elements","Name":"Some_Element_Name","Description":"Some_Element_Description","URL":"Some_Element_URL"}"
Any help is greatly appreciated!
columns
@john Is there a more efficient way of achieving this type of serialization without the backslashes in front of the quotes?
– Jeff P.
Jul 2 at 0:44
And why do you add the already serialized data to a list and serialize that list again?
– sticky bit
Jul 2 at 0:44
@Jeff: Simply put, don't serialize the dictionary data twice (once by itself, and then once as an item in a list of strings).
– john
Jul 2 at 0:46
the first output, where did you get it? debug? or dump it to response/text file? on debug, all double quotes will be escaped (have slashes).
– Bagus Tesa
Jul 2 at 0:50
1 Answer
1
I'm still not 100% certain on your question, but this should produce normal JSON output, which I guess is what you want. As noted by Bagus Tesa in the comments, double quotes will be escaped in the debugger display. Since you're double-serializing a dictionary (i.e. first you're serializing it to a string, and then you're serializing that string), you're bound to have escaped strings in your current output.
List<Dictionary<string, string>> list_element_object = new List<Dictionary<string, string>>();
foreach (var list_element in total_lists)
{
/* Code to get all of the 'element_lists' data
Which is eventually used to create the 'columns' data below */
var Element_List_Name = list_element.Element_List_Name;
var Element_List_Description = list_element.Element_List_Description;
var Element_URL = list_element.Element_URL;
var columns = new Dictionary<string, string>
{
{"@type", "Element_Lists" },
{"Name", Element_List_Name },
{"Description", Element_List_Description},
{"URL", Element_URL }
};
// Add the serialized object to the list
list_element_object.Add(columns);
}
// Serlialize the list containing the data and store into a ViewBag variable to use in a View
ViewBag.Element_Data_Raw = JsonConvert.SerializeObject(list_element_object);
Changing the list to store dictionaries, and then serializing only the list will produce JSON like this (I've formatted it for easy viewing):
[
{
"@type": "Element_Lists",
"Name": "Some_Element_Name",
"Description": "Some_Element_Description",
"URL": "Some_Element_URL"
}
]
Try it online
This answer is perfect and I realize why my error was occurring from my code. So you were right in that i was serializing my List twice, which resulted in the backslashes in front of the double quotes. After observing your first line of code,
List<Dictionary<string, string>> list_element_object = new List<Dictionary<string, string>>();, I was able to create a list of Dictionary items and then eventually serialize that list only once. By using this approach, I only serialized this data once and it didn't create the backslashes. Thank you!– Jeff P.
Jul 2 at 1:30
List<Dictionary<string, string>> list_element_object = new List<Dictionary<string, string>>();
You're welcome. I'm glad I could help :)
– john
Jul 2 at 1:31
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Of course it does. You're serializing a dictionary, adding it to a list (i.e. a list of strings) and then serializing that list. If this isn't what you want, you should add
columnsitself (not serialized) to a list and then serialize that list. If you want something else, please can you update your question to reflect what you actually expected to happen.– john
Jul 2 at 0:43