How to build DataContractJsonSerialize convenience function

I have a common code of serializing a class object in my 3-4 methods ,So I am thinking to create a common function for that code and call function in all the methods

I am doingn this from the following code

DataContractJsonSerializer ser = new DataContractJsonSerializer(this.GetType());
                MemoryStream ms = new MemoryStream();
                ser.WriteObject(ms, this);

                json = Encoding.Default.GetString(ms.ToArray());

                ms.Close();

I want to put this common code in seprate general function which returns Json string and which accept whole class as input parameter as I am converting whole class into a Json object , I tried creating function like

public string GenerateJsonString(class C1)

but this is giving me error on the keyword "class" saying that type is required

Can anyone tell me how can I accept whole class object in seprate method or function

From stackoverflow

• Try using Type instead of class

  public string GenerateJsonString(Type t1)
  

  JaredPar : If you downvote, have the guts to add a comment.

  TheSoftwareJedi : If you get downvoted, have the guts to re-read the question and see if you really understood it. I gave a -1 for an incorrect answer and a misunderstanding of a problem. It's nothing personal at all - don't take it as such.

  JaredPar : I don't take it personal. But in this case i answered the question as typed. The questioner passed this.GetType(), not this. Type is the logical type in that case not object.

• You are confusing a "class" with an "object". You serialize an object, which is an instance of a particular class (aka "Type").

  You can create a method taking a parameter of the .NET base type for all objects, "object", like this:

  public static string GenerateJsonString(object o) 
  {
      DataContractJsonSerializer ser = new DataContractJsonSerializer(o.GetType());
      using (MemoryStream ms = new MemoryStream())
      {
          ser.WriteObject(ms, o);
          json = Encoding.Default.GetString(ms.ToArray());
          ms.Close();
          return json;
      }
  }
  

• You can accept an object. A class is not instantiated and there for cannot be passed to the method.

  TheSoftwareJedi : One can instantiate a "Type" object referring to a class and pass that - but that's not related to this answer.

• Type the parameter as "object". You can't pass a class as a parameter, only an instance of a class - which in OOP is referred to as an "object"

  public string GenerateJsonString(object obj)
  

• If all the objects that you are passing to this method are instances of classes that derive from a common base class, then you can use polymorphism and write the method to accept objects that are instances of the base class. Otherwise, all classes are derived from System.Object.

• It's not clear what you mean by "class object". If you mean an object, passing a reference to the object as normal does pass "the whole object" (well, a reference to it). You can get at all the members.

  If you want to pass the type itself, you should declare the parameter as Type - but I suspect that's not really what you want.

  If you want to write a method which will accept any object, just declare the parameter as type Object:

  public string GenerateJsonString(object x)
  

  Personally I wouldn't use Encoding.Default (which is system-specific) to convert the binary to text, by the way - what encoding is the serializer really using? Does it let you pass in a TextWriter (e.g. a StringWriter) instead of a stream?