How do I deserialize an array of enum using Json.Net?

Question

I have a JSON like this:

[{ 
    \"agencyId\": \"myCity\",
    \"road\": {
    \"note\": \"\",
        \"lat\": \"45.321\",
        \"lon\": \"12.21\",
              


        

Answer 1

The StringEnumConverter expects only a single enumeration value. Because ChangeTypes is an array, you need to annotate the property a little differently to make it work.

Try this instead:

[JsonProperty("changeTypes", ItemConverterType=typeof(StringEnumConverter))]
public ChangeType[] ChangeTypes { get; set; }

Answer 2

There is no need to write a custom JsonConverter for serializing/deserializing array of Enum. Instead of decorating individual property within parent model, just decorate the Enum with a StringEnumConverter JsonConverter attribute.

For eg:-

Following Environment model has Shelter enum property and array of enum Shelter[]

public class Environment
{

    public string Name { get; set; }
    public Shelter Shelter { get; set; }
    public Shelter[] Shelters { get; set; }
}

[JsonConverter(typeof(StringEnumConverter))]
public enum Shelter
{
    Indoor,
    Outdoor
}

Output json:-

 {
   "name": "",
   "shelter": "Indoor",
    "shelters": [
       "Indoor",
       "Outdoor"
  ]
 }