I’m working on some code that serializes and deserializes a complex data structure.

I have a data model in C# consisting of three classes: TypeA, TypeB, and TypeC.
TypeA has a reference to TypeB, TypeB has a reference to TypeA, and TypeC has references to two instances of TypeB.

When attempting to serialize these objects using System.Text.Json, I encounter issues due to the circular dependencies.

Here’s a simplified version of my code:

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Text.Json;

public class TypeA
{
    public int Id { get; set; }
    public string Name { get; set; }
    public TypeB LinkedB { get; set; }
}

public class TypeB
{
    public int Id { get; set; }
    public string Description { get; set; }
    public TypeA LinkedA { get; set; }
}

public class TypeC
{
    public int Id { get; set; }
    public string Note { get; set; }
    public TypeB Reference1 { get; set; }
    public TypeB Reference2 { get; set; }
}

I’ve already looked at RefrenceHandler, but I feel like that only solves one of the two references and not both. (Correct me if I’m wrong)

I’m looking for a solution to serialize these objects using System.Text.Json so that the original references stay intact.

How can I achieve this while staying close to the original data model and the default way System.Text.Json serializes objects?
I’m open to writing custom converters, modifying the data model, or using a different serialization library if necessary.

Any insights or workarounds would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!