C# - Flatter structure vs Nested structure

Gaegul — Sat, 01 Jun 2024 08:51:35 +0000

Define the structure

what is the format I want to use? More nested? flatter object?
How do I make it more extensible?

Nested objects

"university": {
    "name": "sampleUni",
    "offeredCourses": {
        "SMPL101": {
            "courseName": "Intro to Sample Course 101", 
            "enrolledStudents": {
                "1": { 
                    "name": "John Doe", 
                    "age": 20 
                },
                "2": { 
                    "name": "Apple Smith", 
                    "age": 21
                }

            }
        }
    }
}

To achieve this nested structure, this is the code I wrote:

public class Program 
{
    public static void Main() 
    { 
        Student JohnDoe = new Student()
        {
            StudentName = "John Doe",
            Age = 20
        }; 

        Student AppleSmith = new Student()
        {
            StudentName = "Apple Smith",
            Age = 21
        }; 

        Dictionary<int, Student> enrolledStudents = new() 
        { 
            [1] = JohnDoe,
            [2] = AppleSmith
        }; 

        Course course1 = new Course() 
        { 
            CourseName = "Intro to Sample Course 101",
            EnrolledStudents = enrolledStudents
        };

        Dictionary<string, Course> offeredCourses = new() 
        { 
            ["SMPL101"] = course1
        }; 

        University u1 = new University() 
        { 
            Name = "sampleUni", 
            OfferedCourses = offeredCourses
        };

        // to achieve the indentation and the camelCase for json property. 
        // alternatively, we can also define the camelCase for individual property by using the [JsonPropertyName] attribute.
        JsonSerializerOptions jsonSerializerOptions = new JsonSerializerOptions()
        {
            WriteIndented = true,
            PropertyNamingPolicy = JsonNamingPolicy.CamelCase
        }; 

        string serializationResult = JsonSerializer.Serialize(u1, jsonSerializerOptions);
        Console.WriteLine(serializationResult);
    }
}

And, some examples of the DTO, Student and Course class:

public class Student 
{ 
    public string StudentName { get; set; }
    public int Age { get; set; }
    // Additional properties if we need to add more fields
}

public class Course 
{
    public string CourseName { get; set; }
    public Dictionary<int, Student> EnrolledStudents { get; set; } = []; 
    // Additional properties to add more fields, i.e. professor, time, maxStudents... 
}

Advantages of nested json objects

intuitive and may be easier to understand
better encapsulation

Disadvantages of nested json objects

Deep nested objects are complex and data parsing/modification could get more difficult

Advantages of flatter json objects

simpler structure => good for simple data
faster data access/retrieval => less nested levels to traverse.

Disadvantages of flatter json objects

could result in more ambiguity
the relationship might not be as clear as the nested representation

Ultimately need to decide in conjunction with what I want to do with the data, think more about future changes, use cases with focus on OOP.

DEV Community: Gaegul

C# - Flatter structure vs Nested structure