I found this approach which parse JSON into a dynamic object, it extends a DynamicObject and JavascriptConverter to turn the string into an object.
DynamicJsonObject
public class DynamicJsonObject : DynamicObject
{
private IDictionary<string, object> Dictionary { get; set; }
public DynamicJsonObject(IDictionary<string, object> dictionary)
{
this.Dictionary = dictionary;
}
public override bool TryGetMember(GetMemberBinder binder, out object result)
{
result = this.Dictionary[binder.Name];
if (result is IDictionary<string, object>)
{
result = new DynamicJsonObject(result as IDictionary<string, object>);
}
else if (result is ArrayList && (result as ArrayList) is IDictionary<string, object>)
{
result = new List<DynamicJsonObject>((result as ArrayList).ToArray().Select(x => new DynamicJsonObject(x as IDictionary<string, object>)));
}
else if (result is ArrayList)
{
result = new List<object>((result as ArrayList).ToArray());
}
return this.Dictionary.ContainsKey(binder.Name);
}
}
Converter
public class DynamicJsonConverter : JavaScriptConverter
{
public override object Deserialize(IDictionary<string, object> dictionary, Type type, JavaScriptSerializer serializer)
{
if (dictionary == null)
throw new ArgumentNullException("dictionary");
if (type == typeof(object))
{
return new DynamicJsonObject(dictionary);
}
return null;
}
public override IDictionary<string, object> Serialize(object obj, JavaScriptSerializer serializer)
{
throw new NotImplementedException();
}
public override IEnumerable<Type> SupportedTypes
{
get { return new ReadOnlyCollection<Type>(new List<Type>(new Type[] { typeof(object) })); }
}
}
Usage (sample json):
JavaScriptSerializer jss = new JavaScriptSerializer();
jss.RegisterConverters(new JavaScriptConverter[] { new DynamicJsonConverter() });
dynamic glossaryEntry = jss.Deserialize(json, typeof(object)) as dynamic;
Console.WriteLine("glossaryEntry.glossary.title: " + glossaryEntry.glossary.title);
Console.WriteLine("glossaryEntry.glossary.GlossDiv.title: " + glossaryEntry.glossary.GlossDiv.title);
Console.WriteLine("glossaryEntry.glossary.GlossDiv.GlossList.GlossEntry.ID: " + glossaryEntry.glossary.GlossDiv.GlossList.GlossEntry.ID);
Console.WriteLine("glossaryEntry.glossary.GlossDiv.GlossList.GlossEntry.GlossDef.para: " + glossaryEntry.glossary.GlossDiv.GlossList.GlossEntry.GlossDef.para);
foreach (var also in glossaryEntry.glossary.GlossDiv.GlossList.GlossEntry.GlossDef.GlossSeeAlso)
{
Console.WriteLine("glossaryEntry.glossary.GlossDiv.GlossList.GlossEntry.GlossDef.GlossSeeAlso: " + also);
}
This method has to return true, otherwise it will throw an error. E.g. you can throw an error if a key does not exist.
Returning true and emptying result will return an empty value rather than throwing an error.
public override bool TryGetMember(GetMemberBinder binder, out object result)
{
if (!this.Dictionary.ContainsKey(binder.Name))
{
result = "";
}
else
{
result = this.Dictionary[binder.Name];
}
if (result is IDictionary<string, object>)
{
result = new DynamicJsonObject(result as IDictionary<string, object>);
}
else if (result is ArrayList && (result as ArrayList) is IDictionary<string, object>)
{
result = new List<DynamicJsonObject>((result as ArrayList).ToArray().Select(x => new DynamicJsonObject(x as IDictionary<string, object>)));
}
else if (result is ArrayList)
{
result = new List<object>((result as ArrayList).ToArray());
}
return true; // this.Dictionary.ContainsKey(binder.Name);
}