Can JavaScriptSerializer exclude properties with null/default values?
FYI, if you'd like to go with the easier solution, here's what I used to accomplish this using a JavaScriptConverter implementation with the JavaScriptSerializer:
private class NullPropertiesConverter: JavaScriptConverter {
public override object Deserialize(IDictionary<string, object> dictionary, Type type, JavaScriptSerializer serializer) {
throw new NotImplementedException();
}
public override IDictionary<string, object> Serialize(object obj, JavaScriptSerializer serializer) {
var jsonExample = new Dictionary<string, object >();
foreach(var prop in obj.GetType().GetProperties()) {
//check if decorated with ScriptIgnore attribute
bool ignoreProp = prop.IsDefined(typeof(ScriptIgnoreAttribute), true);
var value = prop.GetValue(obj, BindingFlags.Public, null, null, null);
if (value != null && !ignoreProp)
jsonExample.Add(prop.Name, value);
}
return jsonExample;
}
public override IEnumerable<Type> SupportedTypes {
get {
return GetType().Assembly.GetTypes();
}
}
}
and then to use it:
var serializer = new JavaScriptSerializer();
serializer.RegisterConverters(new JavaScriptConverter[] {
new NullPropertiesConverter()
});
return serializer.Serialize(someObjectToSerialize);
The solution that worked for me:
The serialized class and properties would be decorated as follows:
[DataContract]
public class MyDataClass
{
[DataMember(Name = "LabelInJson", IsRequired = false)]
public string MyProperty { get; set; }
}
IsRequired was the key item.
The actual serialization could be done using DataContractJsonSerializer:
public static string Serialize<T>(T obj)
{
string returnVal = "";
try
{
DataContractJsonSerializer serializer = new DataContractJsonSerializer(obj.GetType());
using (MemoryStream ms = new MemoryStream())
{
serializer.WriteObject(ms, obj);
returnVal = Encoding.Default.GetString(ms.ToArray());
}
}
catch (Exception /*exception*/)
{
returnVal = "";
//log error
}
return returnVal;
}