Question

I am trying to post a JSON object to a asp.net webservice.

My json looks like this:

var markers = { "markers": [
  { "position": "128.3657142857143", "markerPosition": "7" },
  { "position": "235.1944023323615", "markerPosition": "19" },
  { "position": "42.5978231292517", "markerPosition": "-3" }
]};

I am using the json2.js to stringyfy my JSON object.

and I am using jquery to post it to my webservice.

  $.ajax({
        type: "POST",
        url: "/webservices/PodcastService.asmx/CreateMarkers",
        data: markers,
        contentType: "application/json; charset=utf-8",
        dataType: "json",
        success: function(data){alert(data);},
        failure: function(errMsg) {
            alert(errMsg);
        }
  });

I am getting the following error:

Invalid JSON primitive

I have found a bunch of posts relating to this and it seems to be a really common problem but nothing i try fixes the issue.

When firebug what is being posted to the server it looks like this:

markers%5B0%5D%5Bposition%5D=128.3657142857143&markers%5B0%5D%5BmarkerPosition%5D=7&markers%5B1%5D%5Bposition%5D=235.1944023323615&markers%5B1%5D%5BmarkerPosition%5D=19&markers%5B2%5D%5Bposition%5D=42.5978231292517&markers%5B2%5D%5BmarkerPosition%5D=-3

My webservice function that is being called is:

[WebMethod]
public string CreateMarkers(string markerArray)
{
    return "received markers";
}

Answer 1

You mentioned using json2.js to stringify your data, but the POSTed data appears to be URLEncoded JSON You may have already seen it, but this post about the invalid JSON primitive covers why the JSON is being URLEncoded.

I’d advise against passing a raw, manually-serialized JSON string into your method. ASP.NET is going to automatically JSON deserialize the request’s POST data, so if you’re manually serializing and sending a JSON string to ASP.NET, you’ll actually end up having to JSON serialize your JSON serialized string.

I’d suggest something more along these lines:

var markers = [{ "position": "128.3657142857143", "markerPosition": "7" },
               { "position": "235.1944023323615", "markerPosition": "19" },
               { "position": "42.5978231292517", "markerPosition": "-3" }];

$.ajax({
    type: "POST",
    url: "/webservices/PodcastService.asmx/CreateMarkers",
    // The key needs to match your method's input parameter (case-sensitive).
    data: JSON.stringify({ Markers: markers }),
    contentType: "application/json; charset=utf-8",
    dataType: "json",
    success: function(data){alert(data);},
    error: function(errMsg) {
        alert(errMsg);
    }
});

The key to avoiding the invalid JSON primitive issue is to pass jQuery a JSON string for the data parameter, not a JavaScript object, so that jQuery doesn’t attempt to URLEncode your data.

On the server-side, match your method’s input parameters to the shape of the data you’re passing in:

public class Marker
{
  public decimal position { get; set; }
  public int markerPosition { get; set; }
}

[WebMethod]
public string CreateMarkers(List<Marker> Markers)
{
  return "Received " + Markers.Count + " markers.";
}

You can also accept an array, like Marker[] Markers, if you prefer. The deserializer that ASMX ScriptServices uses (JavaScriptSerializer) is pretty flexible, and will do what it can to convert your input data into the server-side type you specify.