UniREST JSON format

The JSON format allows storing multiple data into a single string. In this way, you haven’t to create a Database table column for each value, but just create one column and store the various values as a single JSON string. In general, the process of reading and using a JSON string follows these steps:

• convert an object into a JSON string (with Unity’s JsonUtility class or other C# techniques);
• write this string into a Database table;
• when needed, read this string from the table;
• convert this string back to the original object (with Unity’s JsonUtility class or other C# techniques).

However, this approach has two weak points you should keep in mind:

• if you have to update one value only from a JSON string, you have to operate with the whole string (read the entire string from the Database, convert it, update one value, reconvert it, write it into the Database);
• for the JSON format, you have to use the JsonUtility Unity class or other third-party classes that usually work with objects (so you have to create a specific class for that object).

The UniREST JSON class

In order to make the use of the JSON format simpler, the UniREST solution comes with a built-in JSON class. This class allows working with the JSON format on-the-fly, without using third-party tools, JsonUtility or creating additional classes.

Declaration

The first thing to do is to declare an instance of the UniREST Json class. The declaration is needed for both creating a new JSON and parsing a JSON string. In the following examples, the first row declares a new JSON structure, the second row converts a JSON string (myJString) into a JSON structure.

var myNewJ = new Json();
var myJData = new Json(myJString);

Creating a new JSON structure

Once you have declared an instance of the JSON class, your variable is ready to collect your data. To add a new value to your JSON structure you have just to use the Add() method:

variable.Add(name, value);

Parameter	Data-type	Description
name	string	The name that identifies this value. It must be an unique string.
value	object	The value to save into the JSON structure, identified by the given name. It should be a common data-type like string, int, float, bool, etc.

Converting a JSON structure to string

Once you have filled the JSON structure with the data you need, you must convert it into a single string so as to save it into your Database table. You have just to use the ToString() method:

variable.ToString();

var myJData = new Json();

myJData.Add("player", "Conan");
myJData.Add("health", 100);
myJData.Add("strength", 10.6);
myJData.Add("hasWeapon", true);

var stringToSave = myJData.ToString();

Converting a JSON string to a JSON structure

Once you have got a JSON string, you can easily convert it into a JSON structure simply declaring an instance passing that string as a class parameter:

var myJData = new Json(myJString);

The Json class automatically convert the JSON string into a C# dictionary where each value is assigned to the given names. To read those values you have to use the Get() method, specifying the original value data-type:

variable.Get<TYPE>(name);

Parameter	Data-type	Description
TYPE	data-type	The data-type the value must be converted to.
name	string	The name that identifies the value you want to read.

var myJData = new Json(myJString);

var player = myJData.Get<string>("player");
var health = myJData.Get<int>("health");

Working with Json Array

The UniREST Json class works with a single JSON structure. If you need to work with a JSON array, you have to use the UniREST JsonArray class. The JsonArray class generates an array of Json classes. The JsonArray methods are similar to the Json methods:

var myJData01 = new Json();
myJData01.Add("player", "Conan");

var myJArray = new JsonArray();
myJArray.Add(myJData01);

var arrayToSave = myJArray.ToString();

The Get() method just requires the index that locates the Json data into the array:

var myJArrayData = new JsonArray(myJArrayString);

var player = myJArrayData.Get<string>(0, "player");