Serialize C# Enum Definition to Json

Question

Given the following in C#:

[Flags]
public enum MyFlags {
  None = 0,
  First = 1 << 0,
  Second = 1 << 1,
  Third = 1 << 2,
  Fourth = 1 << 3
}

Are there any existing methods in ServiceStack.Text for serializing to the following JSON?

{
  "MyFlags": {
    "None": 0,
    "First": 1,
    "Second": 2,
    "Third": 4,
    "Fourth": 8
  }
}

Currently I'm using the routine below, are there better ways to do this?

public static string ToJson(this Type type)
    {
        var stringBuilder = new StringBuilder();
        Array values = Enum.GetValues(type);
        stringBuilder.Append(string.Format(@"{{ ""{0}"": {{", type.Name));

        foreach (Enum value in values)
        {
            stringBuilder.Append(
                string.Format(
                    @"""{0}"": {1},", 
                    Enum.GetName(typeof(Highlights), value), 
                    Convert.ChangeType(value, value.GetTypeCode())));
        }

        stringBuilder.Remove(stringBuilder.Length - 1, 1);
        stringBuilder.Append("}}");
        return stringBuilder.ToString();
    }

@GavinFaux An enum isn't a collection. Enums are like classes with constants, thus I don't find "legal" serializing them as objects or associative arrays. — Matías Fidemraizer, Feb 08 '13 at 15:46
@ElYusubov: I disagree, the desired output is completely different than the one in the linked question. — Heinzi, Feb 08 '13 at 15:47

score 9 · Answer 1 · answered Feb 08 '13 at 16:22

public static class EnumExtensions
{
    public static string EnumToJson(this Type type)
    {
        if (!type.IsEnum)
            throw new InvalidOperationException("enum expected");

        var results =
            Enum.GetValues(type).Cast<object>()
                .ToDictionary(enumValue => enumValue.ToString(), enumValue => (int) enumValue);


        return string.Format("{{ \"{0}\" : {1} }}", type.Name, Newtonsoft.Json.JsonConvert.SerializeObject(results));

    }
}

Using a dictionary of to do the heavy lifting. Then using Newtonsoft's json convert to convert that to json. I just had to do a bit of wrapping to add the type name on.

I was working on something like this, but you beat me to it. One modification: You can use the builtin `JavaScriptSerializer` instead of an external library. See [here](http://stackoverflow.com/a/331983/298754) for example. — Bobson, Feb 08 '13 at 16:31

score 6 · Accepted Answer · answered Feb 08 '13 at 15:46

6

You're better off populating a Dictionary<string,int> or a Typed DTO and serializing that.

answered Feb 08 '13 at 15:46

mythz

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Thanks, I did try that initially with look up values but was having some issues, will have another look. – Gavin Faux Feb 08 '13 at 16:29
1

Sorry for the duplicate, I was looking to see if there was anything already in ServiceStack, which is: Enum.GetValues(typeof(MyEnum)).OfType().Where(x => x != MyEnum.None).ToDictionary(k => k.ToString(), v => (int)v) – Gavin Faux Feb 10 '13 at 18:49

Serialize C# Enum Definition to Json

2 Answers2

Linked