CustomCreationConverter

The CustomCreationConverterT is a JsonConverter that provides a way to customize how an object is created during JSON deserialization. Once the object has been created it will then have values populated onto it by the serializer.

Example

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public interface IPerson
{
    string FirstName { get; set; }
    string LastName { get; set; }
    DateTime BirthDate { get; set; }
}

public class Employee : IPerson
{
    public string FirstName { get; set; }
    public string LastName { get; set; }
    public DateTime BirthDate { get; set; }

    public string Department { get; set; }
    public string JobTitle { get; set; }
}

public class PersonConverter : CustomCreationConverter<IPerson>
{
    public override IPerson Create(Type objectType)
    {
        return new Employee();
    }
}

This is an extremely simple example. A more complicated scenario could involve an object factory or service locator that resolves the object at runtime.

CustomCreationConverter Example

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//[
//  {
//    "FirstName": "Maurice",
//    "LastName": "Moss",
//    "BirthDate": "1981-03-08T00:00Z",
//    "Department": "IT",
//    "JobTitle": "Support"
//  },
//  {
//    "FirstName": "Jen",
//    "LastName": "Barber",
//    "BirthDate": "1985-12-10T00:00Z",
//    "Department": "IT",
//    "JobTitle": "Manager"
//  }
//]

List<IPerson> people = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<List<IPerson>>(json, new PersonConverter());

IPerson person = people[0];

Console.WriteLine(person.GetType());
// Newtonsoft.Json.Tests.Employee

Console.WriteLine(person.FirstName);
// Maurice

Employee employee = (Employee)person;

Console.WriteLine(employee.JobTitle);
// Support

Reference

CustomCreationConverterT