ASP.NET JSON web service always return the JSON response wrapped in XML

Question

I saw a similar question but it did not resolve my issue. I have a JSON web service in an ASMX file;

The code for the web method

        [WebMethod]
        [ScriptMethod(ResponseFormat = ResponseFormat.Json)]
        public string GetUserRoles(string JSONUserCode)
        {
            string retRoles = string.Empty;
            List<JSONRole> roles = new List<JSONRole>();

            {... I Populate the roles here ...}

            DataContractJsonSerializer serializer = new
            DataContractJsonSerializer(roles.GetType());
            MemoryStream ms = new MemoryStream();
            serializer.WriteObject(ms, roles);
            string jsonString = Encoding.Default.GetString(ms.ToArray());
            ms.Close();
            return jsonString;
        }

This correctly formats the List correctly but wraps the entire return in XML. Here is the response:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?> 
    <string xmlns="http://formshare.com/">
       [{"Name":"Accounts Payable"},{"Name":"Payroll"}]
    </string>

You can view the Response your self by clicking this link:

http://dev.formshare.gologictech.com/JSON/JSONService.asmx/GetUserRoles?JSONUserCode=1234

I need the response to be just:

[{"Name":"Accounts Payable"},{"Name":"Payroll"}]

Any ideas? Thanks for your help.

David Hedlund · Accepted Answer · 2009-07-15 06:23:44Z

12

The WebMethod is able to serve the same information both as XML and JSON. You need to specify what format you want (dataType) in the client, as you submit your request.

Also, you're not supposed to serialize the object to JSON manually, but rather, return roles, and it will be serialized to JSON if your client requests the data as JSON.

EDIT

jQuery example (note the dataType parameter):

$.ajax({
   type: 'GET',
   url: 'http://dev.formshare.gologictech.com/JSON/JSONService.asmx/GetUserRoles',
   contentType: 'application/json; charset=utf-8',
   dataType: 'json',
   data: '{"JSONUserCode":"1234"}',
   success: myCallback
});

It is worth mentioning that the object will not be returned in exactly the format you specified, but rather, wrapped in an object:

{ d: [ {"Name":"Accounts Payable"}, {"Name":"Payroll"} ] }

This, however, is actually quite desirable, for added security

edited Jul 15, 2009 at 6:23

answered Jul 13, 2009 at 19:32

David Hedlund

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5 Comments

JohnnyCantCode Over a year ago

Is there anyway to specify the Datatype in a POST?

David Hedlund Over a year ago

I'm not sure I follow... the above example is a POST.

JohnnyCantCode Over a year ago

I'm sorry, I mean passing the parameter in the URL like the URL I included in my question.

David Hedlund Over a year ago

ah, right. I updated my example above to use the url's and parameters that you're using. Using 'GET' instead of 'POST', the data passed in 'data' will be retrieved via querystring rather than form values.

Samuel Meacham Over a year ago

Since $.ajax() won't work for cross-site usage, I have to use $.getJSON(), and my service returns JSONP. I have the same problem, the json result is wrapped in xml. Since I'm using $.getJSON(), I'm not sure how to set the headers to tell the service that I want a json result, not an xml result. Any ideas how to do that, just via the URL? Is there some built-in parameter that .NET services look for in the query string?

bensiu · Accepted Answer · 2012-11-11 02:15:10Z

3

Turns out it's not dataType that counts but

contentType: 'application/json; charset=utf-8'.

It worked like a charm.

edited Nov 11, 2012 at 2:15

bensiu

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answered Nov 11, 2012 at 1:47

Sebastien Binette

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Comments

Pavel Morshenyuk · Accepted Answer · 2010-07-29 22:09:07Z

1

Make sure your service class has [ScriptService] attribute. This attribute is not added by default.

answered Jul 29, 2010 at 22:09

Pavel Morshenyuk

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Ivan · Accepted Answer · 2010-08-28 20:37:10Z

1

Try Jayrock for .NET, it's a neat handler for .NET JSON RPC. It'll do exactly what you need. There's a step by step how-to for ASP .NET JSON RPC here.

answered Aug 28, 2010 at 20:37

Ivan

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Comments

Emre · Accepted Answer · 2011-01-15 17:25:31Z

I made the same mistake by handling the serialization myself. You re not supposed to return string but the object itself.

If you have already developed a hundred Services like this, a work around for you: just created a aspx, ServiceCaller.aspx, remove everything in the html just leave the page directive and use the codebehind to call the service and Response.Write the string. Also take the Service method name as a parameter like "HelloWorld" and use reflection to invoke it.

It's kinda showing your left ear with your right hand but it works. You can also easily integrate a roles management and using reflection get the service name as string check the db if the user can call this service and with reflection Invoke the method.

(any comments on this is welcome :)

Devadonn · Accepted Answer · 2019-03-23 20:00:36Z

1

Use like this not return string type.Just write

public void Metod()
    {
        json = jss.Serialize(Data);
        Context.Response.Write(json);
    }

answered Mar 23, 2019 at 20:00

Devadonn

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Comments

Emre · Accepted Answer · 2010-12-22 19:12:49Z

0

We have made another page that calls the service server side and writes the response (in our case an .aspx). We cleaned up all the HTML code, doctype head body, and made the server side code to call the service and response.write it.

(in aspx case just leave the page directive at the top)

this way you can get a clean string.

By the way if this is exposing our application to any security threats or major performance hits, I'd really appreciate the comments. Just too busy to ask it here or search on it :)

edited Dec 22, 2010 at 19:12

answered Dec 22, 2010 at 18:42

Emre

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Comments

Rama Subba Reddy M · Accepted Answer · 2012-04-21 09:30:46Z

0

Your missed only "static" keyword in method declaration please look into the following it should work.

FYI: All the web methods should be static

[WebMethod] [ScriptMethod(ResponseFormat = ResponseFormat.Json)]

    public static string GetUserRoles(string JSONUserCode)
    {
        string retRoles = string.Empty;
        List<JSONRole> roles = new List<JSONRole>();

        {... I Populate the roles here ...}

        DataContractJsonSerializer serializer = new
        DataContractJsonSerializer(roles.GetType());
        MemoryStream ms = new MemoryStream();
        serializer.WriteObject(ms, roles);
        string jsonString = Encoding.Default.GetString(ms.ToArray());
        ms.Close();
        return jsonString;
    }

answered Apr 21, 2012 at 9:30

community wiki

Rama Subba Reddy M

Comments

JayC · Accepted Answer · 2013-05-16 00:19:09Z

0

Instead of returning a string in your WebMethod use:

JavaScriptSerializer js = new JavaScriptSerializer();
Context.Response.Write(js.Serialize(YOUR_STRING_TO_OUTPUT));

answered May 16, 2013 at 0:19

JayC

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