Question

I have problem with architectural problem for my C# application. I need to have the following JSON:

{data:{lat:22,lng:33}, error:{code:0,description:""}}

I’m trying to implement this JSON structure with these classes:

public class Response
{
    public object Data { get; set; }
    public object Error { get; set; }

    public Response()
    {
        Error = new ErrorsManager();
    }
}

public class Coordinates : Response
{
    public double Lat { get; set; }
    public double Lng { get; set; }
}

I can set values for Error without any problems. But how to set values for Data I can’t understand. Can anybody suggest proper solution for this situation? I know that this problem can be solved with extends in Java. Can I use something similar in C#?

Update: I’d like to have common root objects in JSON – data and error. But data object can have different context like: coordinates, user data, etc.

Answer 1

You would set Data to an instance of coordinates. That is something like this:

public class Response
{
    public object Data { get; set; }
    public object Error { get; set; }

    public Response()
    {
        Error = new ErrorsManager();
        Data = new Coordinates();
    }
}

public class Coordinates {
    public double Lat { get; set; }
    public double Lng { get; set; }
}

You might think about creating strongly typed versions of Response meaning something like this:

public class Response
{
    public Coordinates Data { get; set; }
    public ErrorsManager Error { get; set; }

    public Response()
    {
        Error = new ErrorsManager();
        Data = new Coordinates();
    }
}

If you have different response types, you might want to have a base class defining only Error and the subclasses adding a new property. I assume you’re using something like JSON.NET to serialize / deserialize.

You could be generic:

public class Response<T> where T : new() {
    public T Data { get; set; }
    public ErrorsManager Error { get; set; }

    public Response() {
        Error = new ErrorsManager();
        Data = new T();
    }
}

public class Coordinates {
    /* left away */
}

Usage:

var response = new Response<Coordinates>();
response.Data.Lat = 0.01;
// whatever you like