JavaScriptSerializer Class

Definition

public ref class JavaScriptSerializer

public class JavaScriptSerializer

type JavaScriptSerializer = class

Public Class JavaScriptSerializer

Inheritance

Object

JavaScriptSerializer

Examples

The first example provides a simple illustration of how to serialize and deserialize data objects. It requires a class named Person which is shown below.

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Web.UI;
using System.Web.Script.Serialization;

namespace ExampleApplication
{
    public partial class _Default : Page
    {
        protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {
            var RegisteredUsers = new List();
            RegisteredUsers.Add(new Person() { PersonID = 1, Name = "Bryon Hetrick", Registered = true });
            RegisteredUsers.Add(new Person() { PersonID = 2, Name = "Nicole Wilcox", Registered = true });
            RegisteredUsers.Add(new Person() { PersonID = 3, Name = "Adrian Martinson", Registered = false });
            RegisteredUsers.Add(new Person() { PersonID = 4, Name = "Nora Osborn", Registered = false });

            var serializer = new JavaScriptSerializer();
            var serializedResult = serializer.Serialize(RegisteredUsers);
            // Produces string value of:
            // [
            //     {"PersonID":1,"Name":"Bryon Hetrick","Registered":true},
            //     {"PersonID":2,"Name":"Nicole Wilcox","Registered":true},
            //     {"PersonID":3,"Name":"Adrian Martinson","Registered":false},
            //     {"PersonID":4,"Name":"Nora Osborn","Registered":false}
            // ]

            var deserializedResult = serializer.Deserialize>(serializedResult);
            // Produces List with 4 Person objects
        }
    }
}

Imports System.Web.Script.Serialization

Public Class _Default
    Inherits Page

    Protected Sub Page_Load(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs) Handles Me.Load
        Dim RegisteredUsers As New List(Of Person)()
        RegisteredUsers.Add(New Person With {.PersonID = 1, .Name = "Bryon Hetrick", .Registered = True})
        RegisteredUsers.Add(New Person With {.PersonID = 2, .Name = "Nicole Wilcox", .Registered = True})
        RegisteredUsers.Add(New Person With {.PersonID = 3, .Name = "Adrian Martinson", .Registered = False})
        RegisteredUsers.Add(New Person With {.PersonID = 4, .Name = "Nora Osborn", .Registered = False})

        Dim serializer As New JavaScriptSerializer()
        Dim serializedResult = serializer.Serialize(RegisteredUsers)
        ' Produces string value of:
        ' [
        '     {"PersonID":1,"Name":"Bryon Hetrick","Registered":true},
        '     {"PersonID":2,"Name":"Nicole Wilcox","Registered":true},
        '     {"PersonID":3,"Name":"Adrian Martinson","Registered":false},
        '     {"PersonID":4,"Name":"Nora Osborn","Registered":false}
        ' ]

        Dim deserializedResult = serializer.Deserialize(Of List(Of Person))(serializedResult)
        ' Produces List with 4 Person objects
    End Sub
End Class

namespace ExampleApplication
{
    public class Person
    {
        public int PersonID { get; set; }
        public string Name { get; set; }
        public bool Registered { get; set; }
    }
}

Public Class Person
    Public Property PersonID As Integer
    Public Property Name As String
    Public Property Registered As Boolean
End Class

The next example shows a more complicated and complete project that uses the JavaScriptSerializer class to save and restore the state of an object by using JSON serialization. This code uses a custom converter that is provided for the JavaScriptConverter class.

<%@ Page Language="C#" %>
<%@ Import Namespace="System.Web.Script.Serialization" %>







    
    

    
    

        

            
                                    Contacts Selection

        
        
        
            
                Type contact's first name:
                
                 
                

                

                

                    

                        

                            Search results:

                            
                                
                                    
                                    
                                    
                                    
                                    
                                
                                
                                
                                
                                
                                
                                
                                
                                No data found.
                            
                            
                                
                                    
                                
                            
                        
                        

                            Contacts list:

                        

                        
                        
                        

                            

                            
                    
                    

                        

                            

                            

                              
                            

                            Message:   

                            
                            
                        
                        
                    
                
            
        
        
            
                 Processing...
            
        
    

<%@ Page Language="VB" %>
<%@ Import Namespace="System.Web.Script.Serialization" %>







    
    

    
    

        

            
                                    Contacts Selection

        
        
        
            
                Type contact's first name:
                
                 
                

                

                

                    

                        

                            Search results:

                            
                                
                                    
                                    
                                    
                                    
                                    
                                
                                
                                
                                
                                
                                
                                
                                
                                No data found.
                            
                            
                                
                                    
                                
                            
                        
                        

                            Contacts list:

                        

                        
                        
                        

                            

                            
                    
                    

                        

                            

                            

                              
                            

                            Message:   

                            
                            
                        
                        
                    
                
            
        
        
            
                 Processing...
            
        
    

Remarks

The JavaScriptSerializer class is used internally by the asynchronous communication layer to serialize and deserialize the data that is passed between the browser and the Web server. You cannot access that instance of the serializer. However, this class exposes a public API. Therefore, you can use the class when you want to work with JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) in managed code.

To serialize an object, use the Serialize method. To deserialize a JSON string, use the Deserialize or DeserializeObject methods. To serialize and deserialize types that are not natively supported by JavaScriptSerializer, implement custom converters by using the JavaScriptConverter class. Then register the converters by using the RegisterConverters method.

Mapping Between Managed Types and JSON

The following table shows the mapping between managed types and JSON for the serialization process. These managed types are natively supported by JavaScriptSerializer. When you are deserializing from a JSON string to a managed type, the same mapping applies. However, deserialization can be asymmetric; not all serializable managed types can be deserialized from JSON.

See also

• Using Web Services in ASP.NET AJAX
• Calling Web Services from Client Script in ASP.NET AJAX