Get data from Json Response using C#

Question

I have the following code in a Unit Test:

 SomeModel test = new SomeModel();
 test.TestField = "Some Content Here"; //Where TestField is a String attribute of the SomeModel class
 var expected = Json(test, JsonRequestBehavior.AllowGet);

When I run

System.Diagnostics.Debug.WriteLine("Expected " + expected.Data.ToString());

I get this in the output: Expected Fake.Path.SomeModel

When I run the test through the debugger I am able to see the data: Debugger Result

How can I access the data through my unit test? I want to be able to verify that the data in it is correct through automated tests.

I am using Visual Studio 2012 Professional

Thanks!

• Matt Burland: The default ToString is just to show the type name, which is what you are seeing. If you want the message, it's going to be expected.Data.TestField
• dan.m.kumar: I get an error when I do that: 'Object' does not contain reference for 'TestField'
• Matt Burland: Then cast it. ((SomeModel)expected.Data).TestField)
• dan.m.kumar: @MattBurland Beautiful!!!! Works like a charm!

Answer 1

The default implementation (in Object) of ToString is to display the type name. That's what you are seeing when you do this:

expected.Data.ToString()

If you want to get at the actual TestField, and Data is defined as object, then you need:

((SomeModel)expected.Data).TestField

Answer 2

I would download Newtonsoft's JSON library from NuGet if you haven't already. This is the code I used on one of my applications which used that libraries JObject class:

var parsed = JObject.Parse(jsonString);
JToken token;
if (parsed.TryGetValue("Key", out token))
{
 var value = token.ToString();
 ... //Do stuff
}

• dan.m.kumar: JObject.Parse only takes string arguments. Is there a way to parse the JsonResult?
• Samuel Davidson: myJsonResult.ToString() or maybe myJsonResult.Data.ToString() whichever returns the JSON formatted string containing the data.
• dan.m.kumar: See Matt's response in the original question. His solution worked perfectly for me!