Neon Integration

Neon is a powerful serialization library for Delphi that facilitates the conversion of objects and other values to and from JSON. It supports simple Delphi types as well as complex classes and records.

WiRL and Neon Integration

WiRL seamlessly integrates with Neon through its default MessageBody readers and writers. This integration allows automatic serialization and deserialization of objects in request bodies and response returns.

Configuring Neon in WiRL

You can customize Neon's behavior in WiRL using the official plugin interface. Here's an example of how to configure Neon within your WiRL server setup:

RESTServer := TWiRLServer.Create(Self);
RESTServer.AddEngine<TWiRLEngine>('/rest')
  .SetEngineName('RESTEngine')
  .AddApplication('/app')
    .SetResources('*')
    .SetFilters('*')
    // Neon plugin configuration
    .Plugin.Configure<IWiRLConfigurationNeon>
      .SetUseUTCDate(True)
      .SetVisibility([mvPublic, mvPublished])
      .SetMemberCase(TNeonCase.PascalCase);
StartServerAction.Execute;

Configurable Parameters

Neon's behavior can be fine-tuned using various parameters. Each parameter is set using a corresponding Set<ParameterName> function. Here are the key parameters:

Members

• Fields: Serialize/deserialize object fields
• Properties: Consider only object properties

MemberCase

Controls how property names are formatted in JSON:

• Unchanged: Leaves names as-is
• LowerCase: Converts to all lowercase (propertyname)
• UpperCase: Converts to all uppercase (PROPERTYNAME)
• PascalCase: Capitalizes the first letter of each word (PropertyName)
• CamelCase: Like PascalCase, but keeps the first letter lowercase (propertyName)
• SnakeCase: Separates words with underscores (Property_Name)
• KebabCase: Separates words with hyphens (Property-Name)
• ScreamingSnakeCase: Like SnakeCase, but in all uppercase (PROPERTY-NAME)
• CustomCase: Uses a custom function specified by MemberCustomCase

MemberCustomCase

Allows you to specify a custom function for property name conversion.

Visibility

Determines which class members to include based on their visibility:

• mvPrivate: Includes private variables
• mvProtected: Includes protected variables
• mvPublic: Includes public variables
• mvPublished: Includes published variables

UseUTCDate

When set to True, treats dates as UTC.

PrettyPrint

When enabled, generates more readable (but larger) JSON output.

Best Practices

1. Choose appropriate visibility: Typically, using mvPublic and mvPublished is sufficient and secure for most applications.

2. Consider date handling: If your application deals with multiple time zones, setting UseUTCDate to True can help maintain consistency.

3. Balance readability and performance: While PrettyPrint makes JSON more readable, it increases payload size. Use it judiciously, especially in high-traffic scenarios.

4. Consistency in naming: Choose a MemberCase that aligns with your API design principles and stick to it across your application.