Question

I read from the DB a long json.
I want just one attribute of that json.

I have got two options:
a. Create an interface for that json and deserialize to that interface.
(Is it an overkill as I need just one attribute ?)
b. Find the substring I need (regex? )

which one is preferred ?

update: I’m using .net 3.5

Answer 1

Why don’t you deserialize using JSON.NET‘s “LINQ to JSON” approach (JObject etc) and just ask for the value you need by name?

That’s sufficiently dynamic so you don’t need to create an interface for everything, but it’s a lot less brittle than using a regex.

JObject json = JObject.Parse(text);
JToken value = json["foo"]["bar"];

(I believe JSON.NET also support’s dynamic in .NET 4, but there’s no particular need to use it here.)