Question

I want to replace the default WCF JSON (for all data types) serialization with JSON.NET.
I’ve searched all over the net and couldn’t find a working solution.

This is my object:

    [JsonObject]
public class TestObject
{
    [JsonProperty("JsonNetName")]
    public string Name = "John";

    [JsonProperty]
    public DateTime Date = DateTime.Now;
}

This is my WCF function:

    [OperationContract]
    [WebGet(BodyStyle = WebMessageBodyStyle.Bare, ResponseFormat = WebMessageFormat.Json)]
    List<TestObject> Get();

This is the code in Global.asax:

        protected void Application_Start(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {
        // Create Json.Net formatter serializing DateTime using the ISO 8601 format
        var serializerSettings = new JsonSerializerSettings();

        serializerSettings.Converters.Add(new IsoDateTimeConverter());
        serializerSettings.Converters.Add(new BinaryConverter());
        serializerSettings.Converters.Add(new JavaScriptDateTimeConverter());
        serializerSettings.Converters.Add(new BinaryConverter());
        serializerSettings.Converters.Add(new StringEnumConverter());

        var config = HttpHostConfiguration.Create().Configuration;

        Microsoft.ApplicationServer.Http.JsonMediaTypeFormatter jsonFormatter = config.OperationHandlerFactory.Formatters.JsonFormatter;

        config.OperationHandlerFactory.Formatters.Remove(jsonFormatter);

        config.OperationHandlerFactory.Formatters.Insert(0, new JsonNetMediaTypeFormatter(serializerSettings));

        var httpServiceFactory = new HttpServiceHostFactory
        {
            OperationHandlerFactory = config.OperationHandlerFactory,
            MessageHandlerFactory = config.MessageHandlerFactory
        };

        //Routing
        RouteTable.Routes.Add(
           new ServiceRoute(
               "Brands", httpServiceFactory,
               typeof(Brands)));

      }

This is Web.Config:

 <endpointBehaviors>
    <behavior name="Behavior_Brands">
      <webHttp defaultOutgoingResponseFormat="Json" defaultBodyStyle="Bare" />
    </behavior>
  </endpointBehaviors>

and the services section:

<service name="TestApp.CoreWCF.Brands">
    <endpoint address="" behaviorConfiguration="Behavior_Brands" binding="webHttpBinding" contract="TestApp.CoreWCF.IBrands">
      <identity>
        <dns value="localhost" />
      </identity>
    </endpoint>
  </service>

And finally, this is what I’m getting when launching the URL:

“http://localhost:30000/Brands/Get“

[{"Date":"\/Date(1354364412708+0200)\/","Name":"John"}, {"Date":"\/Date(1354364412708+0200)\/","Name":"John"}]

The JSON answer obviously ignores the JSON.NET attributes.

Answer 1

Anyway, I figured out a way to use a different serializer, manually, seems its more efficient and faster because it doesn’t pass through Microsoft’s serializer, although code wise it’s a bit messier.

1. Set all return types as “System.ServiceModel.Channels.Message” in your Interfaces and classes implementing them.

   [OperationContract]
   [WebGet(BodyStyle = WebMessageBodyStyle.Bare, ResponseFormat = WebMessageFormat.Json)]
   System.ServiceModel.Channels.Message GetData(); 
   

2. Create an extension method so you could easily build a memory stream out of an object, using the JSON.NET serializer (or whichever you want to use).

   public static System.ServiceModel.Channels.Message GetJsonStream(this object obj)
   {
       //Serialize JSON.NET
       string jsonSerialized = JsonConvert.SerializeObject(obj);
   
       //Create memory stream
       MemoryStream memoryStream = new MemoryStream(new UTF8Encoding().GetBytes(jsonSerialized));
   
       //Set position to 0
       memoryStream.Position = 0;
   
       //return Message
       return WebOperationContext.Current.CreateStreamResponse(memoryStream, "application/json");
   }
   

3. In the method’s body, return the object serialized directly to the stream

   return yourObject.GetJsonStream();