using System;

using System.Collections;

using System.Collections.Generic;

using System.Linq;

using System.Text;

using System.Runtime.Serialization.Formatters;

using System.IO;

using System.Data;

using System.ComponentModel.DataAnnotations;

using System.Globalization;

using System.Reflection;

using System.Collections.ObjectModel;

​

using Newtonsoft.Json;

using Newtonsoft.Json.Linq;

using Newtonsoft.Json.Converters;

using Newtonsoft.Json.Serialization;    

​

using NUnit.Framework; // Throws NUnit.Framework.AssertionException

​

//https://stackoverflow.com/questions/60117142/fallback-or-multi-type-json-serialization?noredirect=1#60117142

​

    public class PhysicalObject {

        [Newtonsoft.Json.JsonProperty("id", Required = Newtonsoft.Json.Required.Default)]

        public int id;

​

        [Newtonsoft.Json.JsonProperty("name", Required = Newtonsoft.Json.Required.Default)]

        public string name;

​

        [Newtonsoft.Json.JsonProperty("description", Required = Newtonsoft.Json.Required.Default)]  // FIXED should have been description not desc

        public string desc;

    }

​

    public static partial class JsonExtensions

    {

        const string refPropertyName = "ref";

        public static void ResolveRefererences(JToken root)

        {

            if (!(root is JContainer container))

                return;

            var refs = container.Descendants().OfType<JObject>().Where(o => IsRefObject(o)).ToList();

            Console.WriteLine(JsonConvert.SerializeObject(refs));

            foreach (var refObj in refs)

            {

                var path = GetRefObjectValue(refObj);

                var original = ResolveRef(root, path);

                if (original != null)

                    refObj.Replace(original);

            }

        }

        static bool IsRefObject(JObject obj)

        {

            return GetRefObjectValue(obj) != null;

        }

        static string GetRefObjectValue(JObject obj)

        {

            if (obj.Count == 1)

            {

                var refValue = obj[refPropertyName];

                if (refValue != null && refValue.Type == JTokenType.String)

                {

                    return (string)refValue;

                }

            }

            return null;

        }

​

        static JToken ResolveRef(JToken token, string path)

        {

            // TODO: determine whether it is possible for a property name to contain a '.' character, and if so, how the path will look.

            var components = path.Split('.'); 

            foreach (var component in components)

            {

                if (token is JObject obj)

                    token = obj[component];

                else if (token is JArray array)

                    token = token[int.Parse(component, NumberFormatInfo.InvariantInfo)];

                else

                    // Or maybe just return null?

                    throw new JsonException("Unexpected token type.");

            }

            return token;

        }

    } 

​

    class TestClass

    {

        public static void Test()

        {

            var jsonString = GetJson();

            // Load into intermediate JToken hierarchy; do not perform DateTime recognition yet.

            var root = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<JToken>(jsonString, new JsonSerializerSettings { DateParseHandling = DateParseHandling.None });

​

            // Replace {"ref": "...") objects with their references.

            JsonExtensions.ResolveRefererences(root);

            // Deserialize directly to final model.  DateTime recognition should get performed now.

            var list = root.ToObject<List<PhysicalObject>>();

            list.Dump();

            Assert.IsTrue(list[0].desc == list[1].desc);

        }   

        static string GetJson()

        {

            var json = @"[

    {

        ""id"":1,

        ""name"":""Book"",

        ""description"":""Something you can read""

    },

    {

        ""id"":2,

        ""name"":""newspaper"",

        ""description"": {

            ""ref"":""0.description""

        }

    }

]

";

            return json;

        }

    }

​

    public class Program

    {

        public static void Main()

        {

            Console.WriteLine("Environment version: {0} ({1})", System.Runtime.InteropServices.RuntimeInformation.FrameworkDescription , GetNetCoreVersion());

            Console.WriteLine("Json.NET version: " + typeof(JsonSerializer).Assembly.FullName);

            Console.WriteLine();

​

            try

            {

                TestClass.Test();

            }

            catch (Exception ex)

            {

                Console.WriteLine("Failed with unhandled exception: ");

                Console.WriteLine(ex);

                throw;

            }

        }

        public static string GetNetCoreVersion()

        {

            //https://techblog.dorogin.com/how-to-detect-net-core-version-in-runtime-ecd65ad695be

            //

            var assembly = typeof(System.Runtime.GCSettings).GetTypeInfo().Assembly;

            var assemblyPath = assembly.CodeBase.Split(new[] { '/', '\\' }, StringSplitOptions.RemoveEmptyEntries);

            int netCoreAppIndex = Array.IndexOf(assemblyPath, "Microsoft.NETCore.App");

            if (netCoreAppIndex > 0 && netCoreAppIndex < assemblyPath.Length - 2)

                return assemblyPath[netCoreAppIndex + 1];

            return null;

        }

    }

​