Gson and deserializing an array of objects with arrays in it

The example Java data structure in the original question does not match the description of the JSON structure in the comment.

The JSON is described as

“an array of {object with an array of {object}}”.

In terms of the types described in the question, the JSON translated into a Java data structure that would match the JSON structure for easy deserialization with Gson is

“an array of {TypeDTO object with an array of {ItemDTO object}}”.

But the Java data structure provided in the question is not this. Instead it’s

“an array of {TypeDTO object with an array of an array of {ItemDTO object}}”.

A two-dimensional array != a single-dimensional array.

This first example demonstrates using Gson to simply deserialize and serialize a JSON structure that is “an array of {object with an array of {object}}”.

input.json Contents:

[
  {
    "id":1,
    "name":"name1",
    "items":
    [
      {"id":2,"name":"name2","valid":true},
      {"id":3,"name":"name3","valid":false},
      {"id":4,"name":"name4","valid":true}
    ]
  },
  {
    "id":5,
    "name":"name5",
    "items":
    [
      {"id":6,"name":"name6","valid":true},
      {"id":7,"name":"name7","valid":false}
    ]
  },
  {
    "id":8,
    "name":"name8",
    "items":
    [
      {"id":9,"name":"name9","valid":true},
      {"id":10,"name":"name10","valid":false},
      {"id":11,"name":"name11","valid":false},
      {"id":12,"name":"name12","valid":true}
    ]
  }
]

Foo.java:

import java.io.FileReader;
import java.util.ArrayList;

import com.google.gson.Gson;

public class Foo
{
  public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception
  {
    Gson gson = new Gson();
    TypeDTO[] myTypes = gson.fromJson(new FileReader("input.json"), TypeDTO[].class);
    System.out.println(gson.toJson(myTypes));
  }
}

class TypeDTO
{
  int id;
  String name;
  ArrayList<ItemDTO> items;
}

class ItemDTO
{
  int id;
  String name;
  Boolean valid;
}

This second example uses instead a JSON structure that is actually “an array of {TypeDTO object with an array of an array of {ItemDTO object}}” to match the originally provided Java data structure.

input.json Contents:

[
  {
    "id":1,
    "name":"name1",
    "items":
    [
      [
        {"id":2,"name":"name2","valid":true},
        {"id":3,"name":"name3","valid":false}
      ],
      [
        {"id":4,"name":"name4","valid":true}
      ]
    ]
  },
  {
    "id":5,
    "name":"name5",
    "items":
    [
      [
        {"id":6,"name":"name6","valid":true}
      ],
      [
        {"id":7,"name":"name7","valid":false}
      ]
    ]
  },
  {
    "id":8,
    "name":"name8",
    "items":
    [
      [
        {"id":9,"name":"name9","valid":true},
        {"id":10,"name":"name10","valid":false}
      ],
      [
        {"id":11,"name":"name11","valid":false},
        {"id":12,"name":"name12","valid":true}
      ]
    ]
  }
]

Foo.java:

import java.io.FileReader;
import java.util.ArrayList;

import com.google.gson.Gson;

public class Foo
{
  public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception
  {
    Gson gson = new Gson();
    TypeDTO[] myTypes = gson.fromJson(new FileReader("input.json"), TypeDTO[].class);
    System.out.println(gson.toJson(myTypes));
  }
}

class TypeDTO
{
  int id;
  String name;
  ArrayList<ItemDTO> items[];
}

class ItemDTO
{
  int id;
  String name;
  Boolean valid;
}

Regarding the remaining two questions:

is Gson extremely fast?

Not compared to other deserialization/serialization APIs. Gson has traditionally been amongst the slowest. The current and next releases of Gson reportedly include significant performance improvements, though I haven’t looked for the latest performance test data to support those claims.

That said, if Gson is fast enough for your needs, then since it makes JSON deserialization so easy, it probably makes sense to use it. If better performance is required, then Jackson might be a better choice to use. It offers much (maybe even all) of the conveniences of Gson.

Or am I better to stick with what I’ve got working already?

I wouldn’t. I would most always rather have one simple line of code like

TypeDTO[] myTypes = gson.fromJson(new FileReader("input.json"), TypeDTO[].class);

…to easily deserialize into a complex data structure, than the thirty lines of code that would otherwise be needed to map the pieces together one component at a time.