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Dynamics 365 Community / Forums / Microsoft Dynamics CRM (Archived) / CRM Plugin - need to s...
Microsoft Dynamics CRM (Archived)

CRM Plugin - need to serialize to JSON

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Posted on by ChrisJC 1,540

Hi,

I'm struggling to figure out how I need to create a JSON string to send to an external API (Campaign Monitor). Unfortunately this being CRM Online I can't use there wrappers which would have made things a lot easier.

I have two main queries (assuming I'm approaching this correctly). 1 I need to format my DataContract correctly so I can build the child elements. I currently have this but don't think it's quite right:

[DataContract(Namespace = "")]
    public class smartEmail
    {
        [DataMember]
        public string To { get; set; }
        [DataMember]
        public IEnumerable<KeyValuePair<string, string>> Data { get; set; }

        [Serializable]
        public struct KeyValuePair<K, V>
        {
            public K Key { get; set; }
            public V Value { get; set; }
        }
    }


It needs to look something like:

{
    "To": [
        "Joe Smith <joesmith@example.com>"
    ],
    "Data": {
        "firstname": "Joe",
        "lastname": "Smith"
    }
}


And secondly my code to generate the object, particularly the data element. Here is what I have:

//create data
Dictionary<string, object> data = new Dictionary<string, object> { };
data.Add("firstname", "Joe");
data.Add("lastname", "Smith");

//"create email
smartEmail CMEmail = new smartEmail();
CMEmail.To = "Joe Smith<joesmith@example.com>";

//Build JS
string wsData = "";
using (var ms = new MemoryStream())
{
    var js = new DataContractJsonSerializer(typeof(smartEmail));
    js.WriteObject(ms, CMEmail);
    ms.Position = 0;
    var sr = new StreamReader(ms);
    wsData = sr.ReadToEnd();
}
// deal with wsData string...


*This post is locked for comments

  • MaKeer Profile Picture
    MaKeer on at
    RE: CRM Plugin - need to serialize to JSON

    Hi,

    Does "WriteObject" works in Sandbox mode? For me its CRM Online, and it is failing at DataContractJsonSerializer.WriteObject method



  • ashlega Profile Picture
    ashlega 34,475 on at
    RE: CRM Plugin - need to serialize to JSON

    That I'm not sure about. If you make it a "collection" of some sort, it'll probably serialize into

    data:

    [

      {"name":"value"},

      {"name":"value"}

    ]

    and it's not what you need. Pretty sure it's doable, but I can't do it off the top of my head (actually, you might want to ask this in the C# forums.. it's the bread and butter for those folks:) )

  • ChrisJC Profile Picture
    ChrisJC 1,540 on at
    RE: CRM Plugin - need to serialize to JSON

    Hi Alex,

    Many thanks - that sorts out what I need to do. My only question is what if I need a dynamic 'key'. A bit like late-bound in that inside data I might need to pass in a field that I'm not yet aware of.

    Thanks,

    Chris

  • Verified answer
    ashlega Profile Picture
    ashlega 34,475 on at
    RE: CRM Plugin - need to serialize to JSON
    And if "To" is supposed to be an array, you can change it like this:

           [DataContract(Namespace = "")]
        public class FullName
        {
            [DataMember]
            public string firstname;
            [DataMember]
            public string lastname;
        }
        [DataContract(Namespace = "")]
        public class smartEmail
        {
            [DataMember]
            public List<string> To;
            [DataMember]
            public FullName data;
        }
        static void Test()
        {
            
            

            //"create email
            smartEmail CMEmail = new smartEmail();
            CMEmail.To = new List<string>();
            CMEmail.To.Add("Joe Smith<joesmith@example.com>");
            CMEmail.data = new FullName(){
                firstname = "Joe",
                lastname = "Smith"
            };

            //Build JS
            string wsData = "";
            using (var ms = new MemoryStream())
            {
                var js = new DataContractJsonSerializer(typeof(smartEmail));
                js.WriteObject(ms, CMEmail);
                ms.Position = 0;
                var sr = new StreamReader(ms);
                wsData = sr.ReadToEnd();
            }
        }



  • Verified answer
    ashlega Profile Picture
    ashlega 34,475 on at
    RE: CRM Plugin - need to serialize to JSON

    Hi,

      you can try this:

           [DataContract(Namespace = "")]
        public class FullName
        {
            [DataMember]
            public string firstname;
            [DataMember]
            public string lastname;
        }
        [DataContract(Namespace = "")]
        public class smartEmail
        {
            [DataMember]
            public string To { get; set; }
            [DataMember]
            public FullName data;
        }
        static void Test()
        {
            
            

            //"create email
            smartEmail CMEmail = new smartEmail();
            CMEmail.To = "Joe Smith<joesmith@example.com>";
            CMEmail.data = new FullName(){
                firstname = "Joe",
                lastname = "Smith"
            };

            //Build JS
            string wsData = "";
            using (var ms = new MemoryStream())
            {
                var js = new DataContractJsonSerializer(typeof(smartEmail));
                js.WriteObject(ms, CMEmail);
                ms.Position = 0;
                var sr = new StreamReader(ms);
                wsData = sr.ReadToEnd();
            }
        }


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