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I am trying to post a JSON object to a asp.net webservice.

My json looks like this:

var markers = { "markers": [
  { "position": "128.3657142857143", "markerPosition": "7" },
  { "position": "235.1944023323615", "markerPosition": "19" },
  { "position": "42.5978231292517", "markerPosition": "-3" }
]};

I am using the json2.js to stringyfy my JSON object.

and I am using jquery to post it to my webservice.

  $.ajax({
        type: "POST",
        url: "/webservices/PodcastService.asmx/CreateMarkers",
        data: markers,
        contentType: "application/json; charset=utf-8",
        dataType: "json",
        success: function(data){alert(data);},
        failure: function(errMsg) {
            alert(errMsg);
        }
  });

I am getting the following error:

Invalid JSON primitive

I have found a bunch of posts relating to this and it seems to be a really common problem but nothing i try fixes the issue.

When firebug what is being posted to the server it looks like this:

markers%5B0%5D%5Bposition%5D=128.3657142857143&markers%5B0%5D%5BmarkerPosition%5D=7&markers%5B1%5D%5Bposition%5D=235.1944023323615&markers%5B1%5D%5BmarkerPosition%5D=19&markers%5B2%5D%5Bposition%5D=42.5978231292517&markers%5B2%5D%5BmarkerPosition%5D=-3

My webservice function that is being called is:

[WebMethod]
public string CreateMarkers(string markerArray)
{
    return "received markers";
}
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1
  • 'failure' is not provided as a possible setting amongst those listed in api.jquery.com/jQuery.ajax ...maybe you mistaken it with 'error' instead? Commented Nov 2, 2013 at 14:32

5 Answers 5

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440

You mentioned using json2.js to stringify your data, but the POSTed data appears to be URLEncoded JSON You may have already seen it, but this post about the invalid JSON primitive covers why the JSON is being URLEncoded.

I'd advise against passing a raw, manually-serialized JSON string into your method. ASP.NET is going to automatically JSON deserialize the request's POST data, so if you're manually serializing and sending a JSON string to ASP.NET, you'll actually end up having to JSON serialize your JSON serialized string.

I'd suggest something more along these lines:

var markers = [{ "position": "128.3657142857143", "markerPosition": "7" },
               { "position": "235.1944023323615", "markerPosition": "19" },
               { "position": "42.5978231292517", "markerPosition": "-3" }];

$.ajax({
    type: "POST",
    url: "/webservices/PodcastService.asmx/CreateMarkers",
    // The key needs to match your method's input parameter (case-sensitive).
    data: JSON.stringify({ Markers: markers }),
    contentType: "application/json; charset=utf-8",
    dataType: "json",
    success: function(data){alert(data);},
    error: function(errMsg) {
        alert(errMsg);
    }
});

The key to avoiding the invalid JSON primitive issue is to pass jQuery a JSON string for the data parameter, not a JavaScript object, so that jQuery doesn't attempt to URLEncode your data.

On the server-side, match your method's input parameters to the shape of the data you're passing in:

public class Marker
{
  public decimal position { get; set; }
  public int markerPosition { get; set; }
}

[WebMethod]
public string CreateMarkers(List<Marker> Markers)
{
  return "Received " + Markers.Count + " markers.";
}

You can also accept an array, like Marker[] Markers, if you prefer. The deserializer that ASMX ScriptServices uses (JavaScriptSerializer) is pretty flexible, and will do what it can to convert your input data into the server-side type you specify.

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15 Comments

You wrote "so that jQuery doesn't attempt to URLEncode your data.", but it is not correct. To stop jquery from urlencoding your data you must set processData to false.
Passing in a string is enough to prevent jQuery from URLEncoding the data parameter. You can set processData to false, but it's superfluous (and doing that alone, without passing in a JSON string for the data, isn't enough).
This same issue (and answer) applies to Rails as well.
@DaveWard Does contentType is considered if we use GET and not POST ?
Use file_get_contents('php://input') to get your json data in php.
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22
  1. markers is not a JSON object. It is a normal JavaScript object.
  2. Read about the data: option:

    Data to be sent to the server. It is converted to a query string, if not already a string.

If you want to send the data as JSON, you have to encode it first:

data: {markers: JSON.stringify(markers)}

jQuery does not convert objects or arrays to JSON automatically.

But I assume the error message comes from interpreting the response of the service. The text you send back is not JSON. JSON strings have to be enclosed in double quotes. So you'd have to do:

return "\"received markers\"";

I'm not sure if your actual problem is sending or receiving the data.

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9 Comments

Thanks for you help Felix, I thought that by running markers through the JSON.stringyfy method i was converting it to a query string, I have done as you suggested but unfortunatly it does not work I am not posting the following.
markers=%7B%22markers%22%3A%5B%7B%22position%22%3A%22128.3657142857143%22%2C%22markerPosition%22%3A%227%22%7D%2C%7B%22position%22%3A%22235.1944023323615%22%2C%22markerPosition%22%3A%2219%22%7D%2C%7B%22position%22%3A%2242.5978231292517%22%2C%22markerPosition%22%3A%22-3%22%7D%5D%7D
@Dreamguts: It is a bit unclear to me what you want. Do you want to send markers as JSON string?
Hi Felix, yes i want to send the markers object as a JSON string so that i can use it in my webservice.
@Dreamguts: Then it should work this way. Also the "code" you posted in the comment looks ok. Of course you have to decode it properly on the server side and maybe you have to change the name of the parameter, I don't know.
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7

I tried Dave Ward's solution. The data part was not being sent from the browser in the payload part of the post request as the contentType is set to "application/json". Once I removed this line everything worked great.

var markers = [{ "position": "128.3657142857143", "markerPosition": "7" },

               { "position": "235.1944023323615", "markerPosition": "19" },

               { "position": "42.5978231292517", "markerPosition": "-3" }];

$.ajax({

    type: "POST",
    url: "/webservices/PodcastService.asmx/CreateMarkers",
    // The key needs to match your method's input parameter (case-sensitive).
    data: JSON.stringify({ Markers: markers }),
    contentType: "application/json; charset=utf-8",
    dataType: "json",
    success: function(data){alert(data);},
    failure: function(errMsg) {
        alert(errMsg);
    }
});
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1 Comment

I am working with a server, I don't have access to. I removed contentType, it helped. But the payload was passing with and without it. Something else changed. The contentType changed to "application/x-www-form-urlencoded", which is wrong, but it works. Magic. Thanks.
2

I have encountered this one too and this is my solution.

If you are encountering an invalid json object exception when parsing data, even though you know that your json string is correct, stringify the data you received in your ajax code before parsing it to JSON:

$.post(CONTEXT+"servlet/capture",{
        yesTransactionId : yesTransactionId, 
        productOfferId : productOfferId
        },
        function(data){
            try{
                var trimData = $.trim(JSON.stringify(data));
                var obj      = $.parseJSON(trimData);
                if(obj.success == 'true'){ 
                    //some codes ...
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Comments

-2

Please follow this to by ajax call to webservice of java var param = { feildName: feildValue }; JSON.stringify({data : param})

$.ajax({
            dataType    : 'json',
            type        : 'POST',
            contentType : 'application/json',
            url         : '<%=request.getContextPath()%>/rest/priceGroups',
            data        : JSON.stringify({data : param}),
            success     : function(res) {
                if(res.success == true){
                    $('#alertMessage').html('Successfully price group created.').addClass('alert alert-success fade in');
                    $('#alertMessage').removeClass('alert-danger alert-info');
                    initPriceGroupsList();
                    priceGroupId = 0;
                    resetForm();                                                                    
                }else{                          
                    $('#alertMessage').html(res.message).addClass('alert alert-danger fade in');
                }
                $('#alertMessage').alert();         
                window.setTimeout(function() { 
                    $('#alertMessage').removeClass('in');
                    document.getElementById('message').style.display = 'none';
                }, 5000);
            }
        });
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1 Comment

here how to list object pass into json to the ajax call of java webservice.

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