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JSON Integration

Convert between JSON and TOON formats using ToonNet.Extensions.Json.

Installation​

dotnet add package ToonNet.Extensions.Json

ToonConvert Class​

Static utility class for JSON ↔ TOON ↔ .NET object conversion.

Deserialize from JSON​

Convert JSON string directly to .NET objects:

using ToonNet.Extensions.Json;

string jsonString = """
{
  "name": "Alice",
  "age": 30
}
""";

Person person = ToonConvert.DeserializeFromJson<Person>(jsonString);

Serialize to JSON​

Convert .NET objects directly to JSON:

var person = new Person { Name = "Alice", Age = 30 };
string json = ToonConvert.SerializeToJson(person);

JSON to TOON Conversion​

string json = """{ "name": "Alice", "age": 30 }""";

// Convert to ToonDocument
ToonDocument toonDoc = ToonConvert.FromJson(json);

// Convert to TOON string
string toonString = toonDoc.ToString();
// Output:
// name: Alice
// age: 30

TOON to JSON Conversion​

string toonString = """
name: Alice
age: 30
""";

ToonDocument toonDoc = ToonDocument.Parse(toonString);
string json = ToonConvert.ToJson(toonDoc);
// Output: {"name":"Alice","age":30}

ToonJsonConverter Class​

Bidirectional converter with more control:

using ToonNet.Extensions.Json;

// JSON → TOON
string json = """{"users": [{"name": "Alice"}, {"name": "Bob"}]}""";
ToonDocument toonDoc = ToonJsonConverter.FromJson(json);

// TOON → JSON
string toonInput = """
users:
  - name: Alice
  - name: Bob
""";
ToonDocument doc = ToonDocument.Parse(toonInput);
string json = ToonJsonConverter.ToJson(doc);

With JsonElement​

using System.Text.Json;

JsonDocument jsonDoc = JsonDocument.Parse(jsonString);
JsonElement element = jsonDoc.RootElement;

ToonDocument toonDoc = ToonJsonConverter.FromJson(element);

With JsonWriterOptions​

var options = new JsonWriterOptions
{
    Indented = true
};

string prettyJson = ToonJsonConverter.ToJson(toonDoc, options);

Complete Workflow Examples​

Scenario 1: API Migration (JSON → TOON)​

// Existing JSON API response
string jsonResponse = await httpClient.GetStringAsync("/api/users");

// Convert to TOON for AI/LLM
ToonDocument toonDoc = ToonConvert.FromJson(jsonResponse);
string toonString = toonDoc.ToString();

// Now use with LLM (40% fewer tokens!)
string prompt = $"Analyze this data:\n{toonString}";

Scenario 2: Data Import​

// Read JSON file
string json = File.ReadAllText("data.json");

// Convert to .NET objects via TOON
var data = ToonConvert.DeserializeFromJson<MyData>(json);

// Process data
ProcessData(data);

// Save as TOON for future use
string toon = ToonSerializer.Serialize(data);
File.WriteAllText("data.toon", toon);

Scenario 3: Format Transformation​

// JSON → TOON → JSON (with formatting)
string compactJson = """{"name":"Alice","age":30}""";

ToonDocument toonDoc = ToonConvert.FromJson(compactJson);

var options = new JsonWriterOptions { Indented = true };
string prettyJson = ToonJsonConverter.ToJson(toonDoc, options);

Console.WriteLine(prettyJson);
// Output:
// {
//   "name": "Alice",
//   "age": 30
// }

Key Methods Summary​

MethodDescription
ToonConvert.DeserializeFromJson<T>(string)JSON → .NET object
ToonConvert.SerializeToJson<T>(T).NET object → JSON
ToonConvert.FromJson(string)JSON → ToonDocument
ToonConvert.ToJson(ToonDocument)ToonDocument → JSON
ToonJsonConverter.FromJson(string)JSON string → ToonDocument
ToonJsonConverter.FromJson(JsonElement)JsonElement → ToonDocument
ToonJsonConverter.ToJson(ToonDocument)ToonDocument → JSON string
ToonJsonConverter.ToJson(ToonDocument, JsonWriterOptions)With formatting options

Use Cases​

  1. API Response Transformation: Convert JSON APIs to TOON for LLM consumption
  2. Data Migration: Import JSON data into TOON-based systems
  3. Format Conversion: Bi-directional JSON ↔ TOON transformation
  4. Token Optimization: Reduce AI API costs by converting JSON to TOON
  5. Interoperability: Work with JSON systems while using TOON internally

See Also​