Gson: Enjoy JSON (De-)Serialization in Java (eBook & Workbook)
Gson: Enjoy JSON (De-)Serialization in Java
About the Book
Learn Every Detail About Gson
Every modern Java application will need to do some Java-JSON parsing in their application life cycle. Gson is the most commonly used library to do the Java-JSON serialization and deserialization automatically.
Data parsing and mapping is complex. Even though Gson makes things quite simple, there are a lot of details that can trip your development up. If it's crazy data structures, weird variable names or complex dynamic data, you can lose a lot of time on something that should be done in minutes. Gson solves most problems in just a few lines. You just need to know the solutions!
This book includes an extensive introduction to Gson's features. We recommend to read it before you even have to use Gson for the first time. But even if you're already an avid user of Gson and stuck at a problem, we're confident we'll solve your problem.
Use our extensive bundle to learn about:
- Introduction to JSON & JSON-Java mapping
- Quick start to jump right into Gson
- Mapping of any Java type
- Deep dive into Gson's configuration options
- Practical examples of Gson customization
- Even advanced topics (Streaming, Generics, ...) are covered
- Necessary ProGuard configuration for Android app releases
Additionally, you'll get an extensive appendix:
- Combining a customized Gson with Retrofit 2
- Overview over common mistakes
- Exploration of Gson alternatives
Who Is This Book For?
This book is for Android or Java developers who want to get a substantial overview and reference book for Gson. You’ll benefit from the clearly recognizable code examples in regard to your daily work with Gson.
Rookie
If you’re just starting out with Gson (or coming from any other Java-JSON library like Jackson databind) this book will show you all important parts on how to work with Gson. The provided code snippets let you jumpstart and create the first mapping within minutes.
Expert
You already worked with Gson before? You’ll profit from our extensive code snippets and can improve your existing code base. Additionally, the book illustrates various optimizations for an even better performance.
Code Samples
Every code snippet in the book has been tested. We provide our test project as a leanpub extra. Feel free to download it and check the full code base as you move through the book. We try to keep the code snippets in the book as short as possible. If more context is necessary, the code examples should provide it.
Workbook
For the first time, we provide additional separated resources besides our book. The workbook gives you a chance to implement everything you'll learn in this book yourself. In our experience actually using a library like Gson helps to reinforce the newly gained knowledge. Thus, we've designed the workbook, which gives you a guided playground to experiment and learn the features of Gson.
Packages
eBook & Workbook
Includes:
Gson Sample Code
Code snippets of the book in action as an Android project.
English
PDF
EPUB
MOBI
WEB
Just The eBook
Includes:
Gson Sample Code
Code snippets of the book in action as an Android project.
English
PDF
EPUB
MOBI
WEB
Bundles that include this book
About the Contributors
Christian is an experienced Software Engineer and consultant working with a wide variety of companies, ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies.
His experiences range across a number of fields and technologies, including web and game development, virtual reality and machine learning.
Christian is an all-round nerd, passionate about outstanding design and creating innovational user experiences.
He has given training to many developers and students since 2011; explaining state of the art technologies and project management methodologies.
Christian has a BSc degree in Computer Systems in Engineering from the Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg.
Find him on Twitter: @celsiusF.

Marcus is an enthusiastic Android & Java developer. He’s developed multiple production-ready client and server applications. While following the core principle of performance for client apps, he also builds REST+JSON APIs that focus on clear and consistent design.
Besides his day job, sharing knowledge and teaching others has become a characteristic he never wants to miss.
Marcus has a Master’s degree in computer science from the Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg.
Feel free to get in touch on Twitter @marcuspoehls.
Table of Contents
-
About the Book
- What Topics Are Covered in This Book?
- Who Is This Book For?
- Code Examples
- Workbook
-
Chapter 1 — Introduction to Java-JSON Mapping
- Adding Gson as Dependency
- Basics of Java-JSON Serialization
- Basics of Java-JSON Deserialization
-
Chapter 2 — JSON Mapping with Gson
- Mapping of Nested Objects
- Mapping of Arrays and Lists of Objects
- Mapping of Maps
- Mapping of Sets
-
Mapping of
Null
Values
-
Chapter 3 — Gson Model Annotations
- How to Ignore Fields
- How to Adjust the Naming of Fields
-
Multiple Deserialization Names with
@SerializedName
-
Chapter 4 — Configuring Gson with GsonBuilder
- GsonBuilder Basics
- Naming Policies
-
Force Serialization of
null
Values -
Go Beyond
transient
and@Expose
with Exclusion Strategies - Relax Gson with Lenient
- Special Values of Floats/Doubles
- Model Versioning
- Formatting of Dates & Custom Date/Time Mapping
- Pretty Printing
- HTML Escaping
-
Chapter 5 — Advanced Gson Usage
- Mapping of Enums
- Mapping of Circular References
- Mapping of Generics
- Custom Serialization for Simplification (Part 1)
- Changing the Default Serialization with Custom Serialization (Part 2)
- Custom Deserialization Basics
- Custom Instance Creator
- Customizing (De)Serialization via @JsonAdapter
- Custom Deserialization for Calculated Fields
- On-The-Fly-Parsing With Streams
-
Chapter 6 — ProGuard Configuration
- Gson and ProGuard Are Not Best Friends
- Standard Gson Configuration
-
Chapter 7 — Practical Gson
- Low Level Parsing
- Storing Data in Android’s SharedPreferences With Gson
- How to Deserialize a List of Polymorphic Objects
-
Chapter 8 — Appendix
- Gson’s Configuration for Retrofit 2
- 5 Common Mistakes & Issues
- Overview of Alternatives
-
Outro
- Workbook
-
Future Studio Books
- Retrofit
- Picasso
- Glide
- Future Studio Bundle
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