How to Convert a JSON String to a JSON Array in Visual Basic

Learn how to seamlessly convert a JSON string received from an API into a JSON array using Visual Basic, suitable for UWP applications.
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Converting a JSON String to a JSON Array in Visual Basic

Working with JSON data can sometimes be tricky, especially when you're trying to integrate it into your applications. If you're developing in UWP (Universal Windows Platform) using Visual Basic and you need to convert a JSON string into a JSON array, you're in the right place. In this guide, we will tackle this common problem step by step.

Understanding the Problem

Imagine you're fetching data from a remote server that returns information in a JSON string format, like this:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

After retrieving this data, you might want to display it in your application. To do this, you first need to convert the JSON string into a structured format that Visual Basic can understand, such as a JSON array.

Setting Up Your Environment

Before diving into the coding part, it's important to ensure you have the Newtonsoft.Json library (commonly referred to as Json.NET) added to your project. This library simplifies the process of handling JSON data in .NET applications.

Steps to Add Newtonsoft.Json

Open your Visual Studio project.

Navigate to the NuGet Package Manager.

Search for "Newtonsoft.Json" and install the latest version.

Fetching the JSON Data

Here's an example code snippet to fetch the JSON response from your API:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

In the code above, this will retrieve the JSON data from your specified URL and store it in the Data variable.

Converting JSON String to JSON Array

Now that you have your JSON string, the next step is to convert it into a structure that can be readily manipulated in Visual Basic. Here’s how you can do that:

Define the Node Class

First, you will need to define a class that reflects the structure of the JSON data:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Deserialize the JSON String

Next, you can deserialize the JSON string into a list of Node objects like this:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Explanation of the Code

Deserialize the JSON: The JsonConvert.DeserializeObject method converts the JSON string into a list of Node objects.

Loop Through Each Node: We then use a For Each loop to iterate through each node in the list and print out the desired values.

Conclusion

Converting a JSON string to a JSON array in Visual Basic is straightforward when you break it down into manageable steps. By fetching the JSON data, defining a corresponding structure with classes, and using the powerful Newtonsoft.Json library, you can easily manipulate and display the information in your application.

If you encounter any issues or have questions, feel free to ask in the comments!