Deserializing Json data to c# for use in GridView - Error Data source is an invalid type

Question

I am relatively new to working with C# (v5.0) and Json data (Newtonsoft.Json v6.0) and am seeking assistance in resolving an error when attempting to populate a .Net 4.5 GridView control. My sample Json data as returned by a web service is:

{
    PersonDetails: [
        {
            Book: "10 ",
            FirstName: "Delbert",
            LastName: "Hinson",
            Remarks: null
        },
        {
            Book: "5 ",
            FirstName: "GUY",
            LastName: "HINSON",
            Remarks: null
        },
        {
            Book: "13 ",
            FirstName: "JAMES",
            LastName: "HINSON",
            Remarks: null
        },
        {
            Book: "7 ",
            FirstName: "JOHN, SR",
            LastName: "HINSON",
            Remarks: null
        }
    ]
}

My class, as generated by Json2CSharp.com is:

namespace VAPerson
{

    public class PersonDetail
    {
        public string Book { get; set; }
        public string FirstName { get; set; }
        public string LastName { get; set; }
        public object Remarks { get; set; }
    }

    public class RootObject
    {
        public List<PersonDetail> PersonDetails { get; set; }
    }

}

My deserialization code is:

    protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {
        string lastName = "hinson";
        var url = string.Format(baseUrl, lastName);
        var syncClient = new WebClient();
        var content = syncClient.DownloadString(url);

        var personDetail = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<RootObject>(content);

        GridView1.DataSource = personDetail;
        GridView1.DataBind();

    }

The deserialization works properly, returning 4 rows of data. When attempting to specify the GridView.DataSource I receive the error:

Data source is an invalid type. It must be either an IListSource, IEnumerable or IDataSource.

It appears that I need to convert the deserialized results to an acceptable format as indicated by the error message. In my research to date, I have been unable to accomplish this. Any help, sample code and suggestions is greatly appreciated.

Thank you - Duane.

Answer 1

You're binding the container object, not the list itself. Change it to:

GridView1.DataSource = personDetail.PersonDetails;

And it should work.