I'm trying to parse some JSON data from the Google AJAX Search API. I have this URL and I'd like to break it down so that the results are displayed. I've currently written this code, but I'm pretty lost in regards of what to do next, although there are a number of examples out there with simplified JSON strings.
Being new to C# and .NET in general I've struggled to get a genuine text output for my ASP.NET page so I've been recommended to give JSON.NET a try. Could anyone point me in the right direction to just simply writing some code that'll take in JSON from the Google AJAX Search API and print it out to the screen?
EDIT: ALL FIXED! All results are working fine. Thank you again Dreas Grech!
using System;
using System.Data;
using System.Configuration;
using System.Web;
using System.Web.Security;
using System.Web.UI;
using System.Web.UI.WebControls;
using System.Web.UI.WebControls.WebParts;
using System.Web.UI.HtmlControls;
using System.ServiceModel.Web;
using System.Runtime.Serialization;
using System.Runtime.Serialization.Json;
using System.IO;
using System.Text;
public partial class _Default : System.Web.UI.Page
{
protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
GoogleSearchResults g1 = new GoogleSearchResults();
const string json = @"{""responseData"": {""results"":[{""GsearchResultClass"":""GwebSearch"",""unescapedUrl"":""http://www.cheese.com/"",""url"":""http://www.cheese.com/"",""visibleUrl"":""www.cheese.com"",""cacheUrl"":""http://www.google.com/search?q\u003dcache:bkg1gwNt8u4J:www.cheese.com"",""title"":""\u003cb\u003eCHEESE\u003c/b\u003e.COM - All about \u003cb\u003echeese\u003c/b\u003e!."",""titleNoFormatting"":""CHEESE.COM - All about cheese!."",""content"":""\u003cb\u003eCheese\u003c/b\u003e - everything you want to know about it. Search \u003cb\u003echeese\u003c/b\u003e by name, by types of milk, by textures and by countries.""},{""GsearchResultClass"":""GwebSearch"",""unescapedUrl"":""http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheese"",""url"":""http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheese"",""visibleUrl"":""en.wikipedia.org"",""cacheUrl"":""http://www.google.com/search?q\u003dcache:n9icdgMlCXIJ:en.wikipedia.org"",""title"":""\u003cb\u003eCheese\u003c/b\u003e - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia"",""titleNoFormatting"":""Cheese - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia"",""content"":""\u003cb\u003eCheese\u003c/b\u003e is a food consisting of proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. It is produced by coagulation of the milk \u003cb\u003e...\u003c/b\u003e""},{""GsearchResultClass"":""GwebSearch"",""unescapedUrl"":""http://www.ilovecheese.com/"",""url"":""http://www.ilovecheese.com/"",""visibleUrl"":""www.ilovecheese.com"",""cacheUrl"":""http://www.google.com/search?q\u003dcache:GBhRR8ytMhQJ:www.ilovecheese.com"",""title"":""I Love \u003cb\u003eCheese\u003c/b\u003e!, Homepage"",""titleNoFormatting"":""I Love Cheese!, Homepage"",""content"":""The American Dairy Association\u0026#39;s official site includes recipes and information on nutrition and storage of \u003cb\u003echeese\u003c/b\u003e.""},{""GsearchResultClass"":""GwebSearch"",""unescapedUrl"":""http://www.gnome.org/projects/cheese/"",""url"":""http://www.gnome.org/projects/cheese/"",""visibleUrl"":""www.gnome.org"",""cacheUrl"":""http://www.google.com/search?q\u003dcache:jvfWnVcSFeQJ:www.gnome.org"",""title"":""\u003cb\u003eCheese\u003c/b\u003e"",""titleNoFormatting"":""Cheese"",""content"":""\u003cb\u003eCheese\u003c/b\u003e uses your webcam to take photos and videos, applies fancy special effects and lets you share the fun with others. It was written as part of Google\u0026#39;s \u003cb\u003e...\u003c/b\u003e""}],""cursor"":{""pages"":[{""start"":""0"",""label"":1},{""start"":""4"",""label"":2},{""start"":""8"",""label"":3},{""start"":""12"",""label"":4},{""start"":""16"",""label"":5},{""start"":""20"",""label"":6},{""start"":""24"",""label"":7},{""start"":""28"",""label"":8}],""estimatedResultCount"":""14400000"",""currentPageIndex"":0,""moreResultsUrl"":""http://www.google.com/search?oe\u003dutf8\u0026ie\u003dutf8\u0026source\u003duds\u0026start\u003d0\u0026hl\u003den-GB\u0026q\u003dcheese""}}, ""responseDetails"": null, ""responseStatus"": 200}";
g1 = JSONHelper.Deserialise<GoogleSearchResults>(json);
Response.Write(g1.content);
}
}
public class JSONHelper
{
public static T Deserialise<T>(string json)
{
T obj = Activator.CreateInstance<T>();
MemoryStream ms = new MemoryStream(Encoding.Unicode.GetBytes(json));
DataContractJsonSerializer serialiser = new DataContractJsonSerializer(obj.GetType());
ms.Close();
return obj;
}
}
/// Deserialise from JSON
[Serializable]
public class GoogleSearchResults
{
public GoogleSearchResults() { }
public GoogleSearchResults(string _unescapedUrl, string _url, string _visibleUrl, string _cacheUrl, string _title, string _titleNoFormatting, string _content)
{
this.unescapedUrl = _unescapedUrl;
this.url = _url;
this.visibleUrl = _visibleUrl;
this.cacheUrl = _cacheUrl;
this.title = _title;
this.titleNoFormatting = _titleNoFormatting;
this.content = _content;
}
string _unescapedUrl;
string _url;
string _visibleUrl;
string _cacheUrl;
string _title;
string _titleNoFormatting;
string _content;
[DataMember]
public string unescapedUrl
{
get { return _unescapedUrl; }
set { _unescapedUrl = value; }
}
[DataMember]
public string url
{
get { return _url; }
set { _url = value; }
}
[DataMember]
public string visibleUrl
{
get { return _visibleUrl; }
set { _visibleUrl = value; }
}
[DataMember]
public string cacheUrl
{
get { return _cacheUrl; }
set { _cacheUrl = value; }
}
[DataMember]
public string title
{
get { return _title; }
set { _title = value; }
}
[DataMember]
public string titleNoFormatting
{
get { return _titleNoFormatting; }
set { _titleNoFormatting = value; }
}
[DataMember]
public string content
{
get { return _content; }
set { _content = value; }
}
}
The code currently compiles and runs perfectly, but isn't returning any results. Could someone help me with returning what I require, the results ready to print out to the screen?
Edit:
Json.NET works using the same JSON and classes as the example above.
GoogleSearchResults g1 = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<GoogleSearchResults>(json);
Link: Serializing and Deserializing JSON with Json.NET
C# - parsing json formatted data into nested hashtables
Parse JSON array
Google Map API request and parse DirectionsResponse with C#, change the json in your url to xml and use the following code to turn the result into a usable C# Generic List Object.
Took me a while to make. But here it is
var url = String.Format("http://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/directions/xml?...");
var result = new System.Net.WebClient().DownloadString(url);
var doc = XDocument.Load(new StringReader(result));
var DirectionsResponse = doc.Elements("DirectionsResponse").Select(l => new
{
Status = l.Elements("status").Select(q => q.Value).FirstOrDefault(),
Route = l.Descendants("route").Select(n => new
{
Summary = n.Elements("summary").Select(q => q.Value).FirstOrDefault(),
Leg = n.Elements("leg").ToList().Select(o => new
{
Step = o.Elements("step").Select(p => new
{
Travel_Mode = p.Elements("travel_mode").Select(q => q.Value).FirstOrDefault(),
Start_Location = p.Elements("start_location").Select(q => new
{
Lat = q.Elements("lat").Select(r => r.Value).FirstOrDefault(),
Lng = q.Elements("lng").Select(r => r.Value).FirstOrDefault()
}).FirstOrDefault(),
End_Location = p.Elements("end_location").Select(q => new
{
Lat = q.Elements("lat").Select(r => r.Value).FirstOrDefault(),
Lng = q.Elements("lng").Select(r => r.Value).FirstOrDefault()
}).FirstOrDefault(),
Polyline = p.Elements("polyline").Select(q => new
{
Points = q.Elements("points").Select(r => r.Value).FirstOrDefault()
}).FirstOrDefault(),
Duration = p.Elements("duration").Select(q => new
{
Value = q.Elements("value").Select(r => r.Value).FirstOrDefault(),
Text = q.Elements("text").Select(r => r.Value).FirstOrDefault(),
}).FirstOrDefault(),
Html_Instructions = p.Elements("html_instructions").Select(q => q.Value).FirstOrDefault(),
Distance = p.Elements("distance").Select(q => new
{
Value = q.Elements("value").Select(r => r.Value).FirstOrDefault(),
Text = q.Elements("text").Select(r => r.Value).FirstOrDefault(),
}).FirstOrDefault()
}).ToList(),
Duration = o.Elements("duration").Select(p => new
{
Value = p.Elements("value").Select(q => q.Value).FirstOrDefault(),
Text = p.Elements("text").Select(q => q.Value).FirstOrDefault()
}).FirstOrDefault(),
Distance = o.Elements("distance").Select(p => new
{
Value = p.Elements("value").Select(q => q.Value).FirstOrDefault(),
Text = p.Elements("text").Select(q => q.Value).FirstOrDefault()
}).FirstOrDefault(),
Start_Location = o.Elements("start_location").Select(p => new
{
Lat = p.Elements("lat").Select(q => q.Value).FirstOrDefault(),
Lng = p.Elements("lng").Select(q => q.Value).FirstOrDefault()
}).FirstOrDefault(),
End_Location = o.Elements("end_location").Select(p => new
{
Lat = p.Elements("lat").Select(q => q.Value).FirstOrDefault(),
Lng = p.Elements("lng").Select(q => q.Value).FirstOrDefault()
}).FirstOrDefault(),
Start_Address = o.Elements("start_address").Select(q => q.Value).FirstOrDefault(),
End_Address = o.Elements("end_address").Select(q => q.Value).FirstOrDefault()
}).ToList(),
Copyrights = n.Elements("copyrights").Select(q => q.Value).FirstOrDefault(),
Overview_polyline = n.Elements("overview_polyline").Select(q => new
{
Points = q.Elements("points").Select(r => r.Value).FirstOrDefault()
}).FirstOrDefault(),
Waypoint_Index = n.Elements("waypoint_index").Select(o => o.Value).ToList(),
Bounds = n.Elements("bounds").Select(q => new
{
SouthWest = q.Elements("southwest").Select(r => new
{
Lat = r.Elements("lat").Select(s => s.Value).FirstOrDefault(),
Lng = r.Elements("lng").Select(s => s.Value).FirstOrDefault()
}).FirstOrDefault(),
NorthEast = q.Elements("northeast").Select(r => new
{
Lat = r.Elements("lat").Select(s => s.Value).FirstOrDefault(),
Lng = r.Elements("lng").Select(s => s.Value).FirstOrDefault()
}).FirstOrDefault(),
}).FirstOrDefault()
}).FirstOrDefault()
}).FirstOrDefault();
I hope this will help someone.
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);
}
I tried to use the code above but didn't work. The JSON structure returned by Google is so different and there is a very important miss in the helper function: a call to DataContractJsonSerializer.ReadObject() that actually deserializes the JSON data into the object.
Here is the code that WORKS in 2011:
using System;
using System.Runtime.Serialization;
using System.Runtime.Serialization.Json;
using System.IO;
using System.Text;
using System.Collections.Generic;
namespace <YOUR_NAMESPACE>
{
public class JSONHelper
{
public static T Deserialise<T>(string json)
{
T obj = Activator.CreateInstance<T>();
MemoryStream ms = new MemoryStream(Encoding.Unicode.GetBytes(json));
DataContractJsonSerializer serialiser = new DataContractJsonSerializer(obj.GetType());
obj = (T)serialiser.ReadObject(ms);
ms.Close();
return obj;
}
}
public class Result
{
public string GsearchResultClass { get; set; }
public string unescapedUrl { get; set; }
public string url { get; set; }
public string visibleUrl { get; set; }
public string cacheUrl { get; set; }
public string title { get; set; }
public string titleNoFormatting { get; set; }
public string content { get; set; }
}
public class Page
{
public string start { get; set; }
public int label { get; set; }
}
public class Cursor
{
public string resultCount { get; set; }
public Page[] pages { get; set; }
public string estimatedResultCount { get; set; }
public int currentPageIndex { get; set; }
public string moreResultsUrl { get; set; }
public string searchResultTime { get; set; }
}
public class ResponseData
{
public Result[] results { get; set; }
public Cursor cursor { get; set; }
}
public class GoogleSearchResults
{
public ResponseData responseData { get; set; }
public object responseDetails { get; set; }
public int responseStatus { get; set; }
}
}
To get the content of the first result, do:
GoogleSearchResults googleResults = new GoogleSearchResults();
googleResults = JSONHelper.Deserialise<GoogleSearchResults>(jsonData);
string contentOfFirstResult = googleResults.responseData.results[0].content;
I just think the whole example would be useful. This is the example for this problem.
using System;
using System.Data;
using System.Configuration;
using System.Web;
using System.Web.Security;
using System.Web.UI;
using System.Web.UI.WebControls;
using System.Web.UI.WebControls.WebParts;
using System.Web.UI.HtmlControls;
using System.ServiceModel.Web;
using System.Runtime.Serialization;
using System.Runtime.Serialization.Json;
using System.IO;
using System.Text;
using System.Collections.Generic;
public partial class _Default : System.Web.UI.Page
{
protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
GoogleSearchResults g1 = new GoogleSearchResults();
const string json = @"{""responseData"": {""results"":[{""GsearchResultClass"":""GwebSearch"",""unescapedUrl"":""http://www.cheese.com/"",""url"":""http://www.cheese.com/"",""visibleUrl"":""www.cheese.com"",""cacheUrl"":""http://www.google.com/search?q\u003dcache:bkg1gwNt8u4J:www.cheese.com"",""title"":""\u003cb\u003eCHEESE\u003c/b\u003e.COM - All about \u003cb\u003echeese\u003c/b\u003e!."",""titleNoFormatting"":""CHEESE.COM - All about cheese!."",""content"":""\u003cb\u003eCheese\u003c/b\u003e - everything you want to know about it. Search \u003cb\u003echeese\u003c/b\u003e by name, by types of milk, by textures and by countries.""},{""GsearchResultClass"":""GwebSearch"",""unescapedUrl"":""http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheese"",""url"":""http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheese"",""visibleUrl"":""en.wikipedia.org"",""cacheUrl"":""http://www.google.com/search?q\u003dcache:n9icdgMlCXIJ:en.wikipedia.org"",""title"":""\u003cb\u003eCheese\u003c/b\u003e - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia"",""titleNoFormatting"":""Cheese - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia"",""content"":""\u003cb\u003eCheese\u003c/b\u003e is a food consisting of proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. It is produced by coagulation of the milk \u003cb\u003e...\u003c/b\u003e""},{""GsearchResultClass"":""GwebSearch"",""unescapedUrl"":""http://www.ilovecheese.com/"",""url"":""http://www.ilovecheese.com/"",""visibleUrl"":""www.ilovecheese.com"",""cacheUrl"":""http://www.google.com/search?q\u003dcache:GBhRR8ytMhQJ:www.ilovecheese.com"",""title"":""I Love \u003cb\u003eCheese\u003c/b\u003e!, Homepage"",""titleNoFormatting"":""I Love Cheese!, Homepage"",""content"":""The American Dairy Association\u0026#39;s official site includes recipes and information on nutrition and storage of \u003cb\u003echeese\u003c/b\u003e.""},{""GsearchResultClass"":""GwebSearch"",""unescapedUrl"":""http://www.gnome.org/projects/cheese/"",""url"":""http://www.gnome.org/projects/cheese/"",""visibleUrl"":""www.gnome.org"",""cacheUrl"":""http://www.google.com/search?q\u003dcache:jvfWnVcSFeQJ:www.gnome.org"",""title"":""\u003cb\u003eCheese\u003c/b\u003e"",""titleNoFormatting"":""Cheese"",""content"":""\u003cb\u003eCheese\u003c/b\u003e uses your webcam to take photos and videos, applies fancy special effects and lets you share the fun with others. It was written as part of Google\u0026#39;s \u003cb\u003e...\u003c/b\u003e""}],""cursor"":{""pages"":[{""start"":""0"",""label"":1},{""start"":""4"",""label"":2},{""start"":""8"",""label"":3},{""start"":""12"",""label"":4},{""start"":""16"",""label"":5},{""start"":""20"",""label"":6},{""start"":""24"",""label"":7},{""start"":""28"",""label"":8}],""estimatedResultCount"":""14400000"",""currentPageIndex"":0,""moreResultsUrl"":""http://www.google.com/search?oe\u003dutf8\u0026ie\u003dutf8\u0026source\u003duds\u0026start\u003d0\u0026hl\u003den-GB\u0026q\u003dcheese""}}, ""responseDetails"": null, ""responseStatus"": 200}";
g1 = JSONHelper.Deserialise<GoogleSearchResults>(json);
foreach (Pages x in g1.responseData.cursor.pages)
{
// Anything you want to get
Response.Write(x.label);
}
}
}
public class JSONHelper
{
public static T Deserialise<T>(string json)
{
using (var ms = new MemoryStream(Encoding.Unicode.GetBytes(json)))
{
var serialiser = new DataContractJsonSerializer(typeof(T));
return (T)serialiser.ReadObject(ms);
}
}
public static string Serialize<T>(T obj)
{
DataContractJsonSerializer serializer = new DataContractJsonSerializer(obj.GetType());
using (MemoryStream ms = new MemoryStream())
{
serializer.WriteObject(ms, obj);
return Encoding.Default.GetString(ms.ToArray());
}
}
}
[DataContract]
public class GoogleSearchResults
{
[DataMember]
public ResponseData responseData { get; set; }
[DataMember]
public string responseStatus { get; set; }
}
public class ResponseData
{
[DataMember]
public Cursor cursor { get; set; }
[DataMember]
public IEnumerable<Results> results { get; set; }
}
[DataContract]
public class Cursor
{
[DataMember]
public IEnumerable<Pages> pages { get; set; }
}
[DataContract]
public class Pages
{
[DataMember]
public string start { get; set; }
[DataMember]
public string label { get; set; }
}
[DataContract]
public class Results
{
[DataMember]
public string unescapedUrl { get; set; }
[DataMember]
public string url { get; set; }
[DataMember]
public string visibleUrl { get; set; }
[DataMember]
public string cacheUrl { get; set; }
[DataMember]
public string title { get; set; }
[DataMember]
public string titleNoFormatting { get; set; }
[DataMember]
public string content { get; set; }
}
Your data class doesn't match the JSON object. Use this instead:
[DataContract]
public class GoogleSearchResults
{
[DataMember]
public ResponseData responseData { get; set; }
}
[DataContract]
public class ResponseData
{
[DataMember]
public IEnumerable<Results> results { get; set; }
}
[DataContract]
public class Results
{
[DataMember]
public string unescapedUrl { get; set; }
[DataMember]
public string url { get; set; }
[DataMember]
public string visibleUrl { get; set; }
[DataMember]
public string cacheUrl { get; set; }
[DataMember]
public string title { get; set; }
[DataMember]
public string titleNoFormatting { get; set; }
[DataMember]
public string content { get; set; }
}
Also, you don't have to instantiate the class to get its type for deserialization:
public static T Deserialise<T>(string json)
{
using (var ms = new MemoryStream(Encoding.Unicode.GetBytes(json)))
{
var serialiser = new DataContractJsonSerializer(typeof(T));
return (T)serialiser.ReadObject(ms);
}
}
Thank you all for your help. This is my final version, and it works thanks to your combined help ! I am only showing the changes i made, all the rest is taken from Joe Chung's work
public class GoogleSearchResults
{
[DataMember]
public ResponseData responseData { get; set; }
[DataMember]
public string responseDetails { get; set; }
[DataMember]
public int responseStatus { get; set; }
}
and
[DataContract]
public class ResponseData
{
[DataMember]
public List<Results> results { get; set; }
}
Source: Stackoverflow.com