Serialize Json in c# with special character in variable name

March 15, 2022

I need to serialize the following json

{
    "searchText": "masktl_TABLE_GetMissingTables",
    "$skip": 0,
    "$top": 1,
    "includeFacets": true
}

I’ve tried this

string payload = JsonConvert.SerializeObject(new
        {
            searchText = "masktl_TABLE_GetMissingTables",
            $skip = 0,
            $top = 1,
            includeFacets = true
        });

But we can not put $ in the name of a variable. Can anyone please suggest me any other way to serialize the json?

>Solution :

Create a Dictionary<string, object> instead:

var dictionary = new Dictionary<string, object>
{
    ["searchText"] = "masktl_TABLE_GetMissingTables",
    ["$skip"] = 0,
    ["$top"] = 1,
    ["includeFacets"] = true
};
string payload = JsonConvert.SerializeObject(dictionary);

Alternatively, if you need to do this from more than just the one place, create a class with the relevant properties and use the JsonProperty attribute to specify the name within the JSON.

For example:

public class SearchRequest
{
    [JsonProperty("searchText")]
    public string SearchText { get; set; }

    [JsonProperty("$skip")]
    public int Skip { get; set; }

    [JsonProperty("$top")]
    public int Top { get; set; }

    [JsonProperty("includeFacets")]
    public bool IncludeFacets { get; set; }
}

var request = new SearchRequest
{
    SearchText = "masktl_TABLE_GetMissingTables",
    Skip = 0,
    Top = 1,
    IncludeFacets = true
};
string payload = JsonConvert.SerializeObject(request);