How do I get values out of a json array in a post request C# API

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Hi I am trying to get the address values from a simple post request to an API so I can read them an populate a SQL table. Items such as name etc I am able to read and write to the database, but each person has 2 addresses so these are in the json as an array (without square brackets). Is there an easy way to do this?

What I have tried:

My model looks like this

public class Customer
{
    // Properties of Create Customer with Get/Set
    public int customer_number { get; set; } // mandatory
    public string prefix { get; set; } // not mandatory
    public string firstname { get; set; } // mandatory
    public string surname { get; set; } // mandatory
    public string type { get; set; } // mandatory -- address type "Billing | Shipping"
    public string line_1 { get; set; } // mandatory
    public string line_2 { get; set; } // not mandatory
    public string line_3 { get; set; } // not mandatory
    public string city { get; set; } // not mandatory
    public string county { get; set; } //not mandatory
    public string post_code { get; set; } //mandatory
    public string country { get; set; } // not mandatory
    public char email_opt_in { get; set; } // mandatory
}

public class CreateCustomer : Customer
{
}

and my controller like this.

// POST api/<controller>
 public HttpResponseMessage Post([FromBody]CreateCustomer value)
 {
     _conCust = new SqlConnection(ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings["CAR_Connection"].ConnectionString);
     _conCust.Open();

     var a_query = "insert into cust ( Title, FirstName, Surname, Address1, Address2, Address3, Town, County, Country, " +
         "PostCode, Tel, Mobile, ACCreateDate, CreatedBy, CreatedDate, CreatedMachine) values " +
         "(@Title, @First, @Surname, @Add1, @Add2, @Add3, @Town, @County, @Country, @PostCode, @Tel, @Mobile, CONVERT(VARCHAR(10), getdate(), 111), " +
         "'WebAPI', getdate(), 'AUTOMATED') ";
     SqlCommand a_insertcommand = new SqlCommand(a_query, _conCust);
     a_insertcommand.Parameters.AddWithValue("@Title", value.prefix);
     a_insertcommand.Parameters.AddWithValue("@First", value.firstname);
     a_insertcommand.Parameters.AddWithValue("@Surname", value.surname);
     a_insertcommand.Parameters.AddWithValue("@Add1", ""); //value.line_1);
     a_insertcommand.Parameters.AddWithValue("@Add2", ""); // value.line_2);
     a_insertcommand.Parameters.AddWithValue("@Add3", ""); // value.line_3);
     a_insertcommand.Parameters.AddWithValue("@Town", ""); // value.city);
     a_insertcommand.Parameters.AddWithValue("@County", ""); // value.county);
     a_insertcommand.Parameters.AddWithValue("@Country", ""); // value.country);
     a_insertcommand.Parameters.AddWithValue("@PostCode", value.post_code[1]);
     a_insertcommand.Parameters.AddWithValue("@Tel", ""); // value.phone_number);
     a_insertcommand.Parameters.AddWithValue("@Mobile", ""); //  value.mobile_number);


     int a_result = a_insertcommand.ExecuteNonQuery();

At the moment to test the name saved correctly I've commented out the address values, inserting just a blank string instead.

I know I must be just missing something simple!

A post request would be similar to this...

{
  "customer_number": 1,
  "prefix": "Mr",
  "firstname": "Test",
  "surname": "User",
  "billing_address": {
    "type": "Billing",
    "line_1": "Street 1",
    "line_2": "Street 2",
    "line_3": "Street 3",
    "city": "AnyTown",
    "county": "Cumbria",
    "post_code": "CA1 4TY",
    "country": "GB",
    "is_default": "1"
  },
  "shipping_address": {
    "type": "Shipping",
    "line_1": "Street 1",
    "line_2": "Street 2",
    "line_3": "Street 3",
    "city": "Town",
    "county": "Cumbria",
    "post_code": "CA1 4TY",
    "country": "GB",
    "is_default": "0"
  },
  "email_opt_in": "0|1"
}

Any guidance would be appreciated.

Posted 11-Aug-20 22:54pm

Bullgill Coder

Updated 12-Aug-20 0:55am

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Garth J Lancaster · Accepted Answer · 2020-08-11T23:56:00

not sure what you mean by

Quote:
so these are in the JSON as an array (without square brackets).

.. it's either proper JSON or not, else thump the person who owns the API and tell them to sharpen up !! (It's really hard to work with bastardised pseudo JSON)

If your JSON is formatted correctly, then using a JSON to CSharp tool, eg Convert JSON to C# Classes Online - Json2CSharp Toolkit[^] you usually end up with a schema and a 'root' object, which in your case would hold something like

public class Root 
{
  ...
  List<Customer> customers {get; set;}
  ...
}

and then you use a deserialise

Root myDeserializedClass = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject(myJsonResponse);

If your JSON is 'proper' the generated C# class should have billing address and shipping address as separate entities is customer.billing_address.type vs customer.shipping_address.type - it seems your model is incorrect, it doesnt match the json snippet you show

[Edit] from your JSON snippet I generated this model

// Root myDeserializedClass = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<Root>(myJsonResponse); 
    public class BillingAddress    {
        public string type { get; set; } 
        public string line_1 { get; set; } 
        public string line_2 { get; set; } 
        public string line_3 { get; set; } 
        public string city { get; set; } 
        public string county { get; set; } 
        public string post_code { get; set; } 
        public string country { get; set; } 
        public string is_default { get; set; } 
    }

    public class ShippingAddress    {
        public string type { get; set; } 
        public string line_1 { get; set; } 
        public string line_2 { get; set; } 
        public string line_3 { get; set; } 
        public string city { get; set; } 
        public string county { get; set; } 
        public string post_code { get; set; } 
        public string country { get; set; } 
        public string is_default { get; set; } 
    }

    public class Root    {
        public int customer_number { get; set; } 
        public string prefix { get; set; } 
        public string firstname { get; set; } 
        public string surname { get; set; } 
        public BillingAddress billing_address { get; set; } 
        public ShippingAddress shipping_address { get; set; } 
        public string email_opt_in { get; set; } 
    }

[/Edit]

F-ES Sitecore · Accepted Answer · 2020-08-12T00:55:00

You treat properties in json that are other objects as properties in your c# classes that are classes that match the property's values. So in your case have an Address class that has the fields for the addresses and add a shipping_address and billing_address property

C#

public class Address
{
    public string type { get; set; } // mandatory -- address type "Billing | Shipping"
    public string line_1 { get; set; } // mandatory
    public string line_2 { get; set; } // not mandatory
    public string line_3 { get; set; } // not mandatory
    public string city { get; set; } // not mandatory
    public string county { get; set; } //not mandatory
    public string post_code { get; set; } //mandatory
    public string country { get; set; } // not mandatory
}

public class Customer
{
    // Properties of Create Customer with Get/Set
    public int customer_number { get; set; } // mandatory
    public string prefix { get; set; } // not mandatory
    public string firstname { get; set; } // mandatory
    public string surname { get; set; } // mandatory
    public char email_opt_in { get; set; } // mandatory
    public Address billing_address { get; set; }
    public Address shipping_address { get; set; }
}

When you deserialise your json it will create and populate the relevant address fields with the data from your json.

How do I get values out of a json array in a post request C# API

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