CODEWITHSUNDEEP
asp.netjsonasp.net-web-api
conical
conical

Reputation: 511

Web Api not converting json empty strings values to null

Example Json: {"Field1":"","Field2":null}.

In MVC, Field1 would be converted to null by default. I tried the [DisplayFormat(ConvertEmptyStringToNull = true)] attribute, (which should be the default anyway) and it did not make a difference.

I'm using Web Api 2.1

Any ideas?

Upvotes: 3

Views: 6492

Answers (1)

Yishai Galatzer
Yishai Galatzer

Reputation: 8862

in C# an empty string is not the same as a null reference, and json.NET which is the underlying json implementation decided to avoid automatic conversions.

You can add the following custom converter to deal with that

public class EmptyToNullConverter : JsonConverter
{
    private JsonSerializer _stringSerializer = new JsonSerializer();

    public override bool CanConvert(Type objectType)
    {
        return objectType == typeof(string);
    }

    public override object ReadJson(JsonReader reader, Type objectType, object existingValue, JsonSerializer serializer)
    {
        string value = _stringSerializer.Deserialize<string>(reader);

        if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(value))
        {
            value = null;
        }

        return value;
    }

    public override void WriteJson(JsonWriter writer, object value, JsonSerializer serializer)
    {
        _stringSerializer.Serialize(writer, value);
    }
}

and to use it in your class decorate the properties you want to convert with

[JsonConverter(typeof(EmptyToNullConverter))]
public string FamilyName { get; set; }

You can add this converter to the config.Formatters.JsonFormatter.SerializerSettings.Converters and it will apply to all strings instead. Note that it required the private member _stringSerializer otherwise it will stackoverflow. The member is not required if you just decorate the string property directly.

in WebApiConfig.cs add the following line:

config.Formatters.JsonFormatter.SerializerSettings.Converters.Add(new EmptyToNullConverter());

Upvotes: 14

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