Avoid send json property

Question

I have a ASP.NET WebAPI application that sends to the Javascript client json responses.

I have a class that I use to build a tree view:

public class TreeViewModel
{
    public string text { get; set; }
    public string cls { get; set; }
    public bool expanded { get; set; }
    [JsonProperty(PropertyName = "checked")]
    public bool checked { get; set; }
    public bool leaf { get; set; }
    public List<TreeViewModel> children { get; set; }
}

I have to hide on my Json response the children property when that element doesn't have any children and also hide the cls and expanded property.

I should get something like this:

[{
    "text": "To Do", 
    "cls": "folder",
    "expanded": true,
    "children": [{
        "text": "Go jogging",
        "leaf": true,
        "checked": true
    },{
        "text": "Take a nap",
        "leaf": true,
        "checked": false
    },{
        "text": "Climb Everest",
        "leaf": true,
        "checked": false
    }]
},

Any clue?

Answer 1

There is a concept called Conditional Serialization in Json.NET. Take a look here for the documentation.

In your case, you could do something like:

public class TreeViewModel
{
    public string Text { get; set; }
    public string Cls { get; set; }
    public bool Expanded { get; set; }
    [JsonProperty(PropertyName = "checked")]
    public bool Checked { get; set; }
    public bool Leaf { get; set; }
    public List<TreeViewModel> Children { get; set; }

    public bool ShouldSerializeCls()
    {
        return Children != null && Children.Count > 0;
    }

    public bool ShouldSerializeExpanded()
    {
        return Children != null && Children.Count > 0;
    }

    public bool ShouldSerializeChildren()
    {
        return Children != null && Children.Count > 0;
    }
}