Module: JSON

Defined in:
lib/json.rb,
lib/json/ext.rb,
lib/json/pure.rb,
lib/json/common.rb,
lib/json/version.rb,
lib/json/pure/parser.rb,
lib/json/generic_object.rb,
lib/json/pure/generator.rb,
ext/json/ext/parser/parser.c,
ext/json/ext/generator/generator.c

Overview

JavaScript Object Notation (JSON)

JSON is a lightweight data-interchange format. It is easy for us humans to read and write. Plus, equally simple for machines to generate or parse. JSON is completely language agnostic, making it the ideal interchange format.

Built on two universally available structures:

1. A collection of name/value pairs. Often referred to as an _object_, hash table, record, struct, keyed list, or associative array.
2. An ordered list of values. More commonly called an _array_, vector, sequence or list.

To read more about JSON visit: json.org

Parsing JSON

To parse a JSON string received by another application or generated within your existing application:

require 'json'

my_hash = JSON.parse('{"hello": "goodbye"}')
puts my_hash["hello"] => "goodbye"

Notice the extra quotes '' around the hash notation. Ruby expects the argument to be a string and can’t convert objects like a hash or array.

Ruby converts your string into a hash

Generating JSON

Creating a JSON string for communication or serialization is just as simple.

require 'json'

my_hash = {:hello => "goodbye"}
puts JSON.generate(my_hash) => "{\"hello\":\"goodbye\"}"

Or an alternative way:

require 'json'
puts {:hello => "goodbye"}.to_json => "{\"hello\":\"goodbye\"}"

JSON.generate only allows objects or arrays to be converted to JSON syntax. to_json, however, accepts many Ruby classes even though it acts only as a method for serialization:

require 'json'

1.to_json => "1"

Defined Under Namespace

Modules: Ext, Pure Classes: CircularDatastructure, GeneratorError, GenericObject, JSONError, MissingUnicodeSupport, NestingError, ParserError

Constant Summary collapse

JSON_LOADED = 
true
NaN = 
0.0/0
Infinity = 
1.0/0
MinusInfinity = 
-Infinity
UnparserError =

For backwards compatibility

GeneratorError
VERSION =

JSON version

'2.0.1'
VERSION_ARRAY =

:nodoc:

VERSION.split(/\./).map { |x| x.to_i }
VERSION_MAJOR =

:nodoc:

VERSION_ARRAY[0]
VERSION_MINOR =

:nodoc:

VERSION_ARRAY[1]
VERSION_BUILD =

:nodoc:

VERSION_ARRAY[2]
MAP = 
{
  "\x0" => '\u0000',
  "\x1" => '\u0001',
  "\x2" => '\u0002',
  "\x3" => '\u0003',
  "\x4" => '\u0004',
  "\x5" => '\u0005',
  "\x6" => '\u0006',
  "\x7" => '\u0007',
  "\b"  =>  '\b',
  "\t"  =>  '\t',
  "\n"  =>  '\n',
  "\xb" => '\u000b',
  "\f"  =>  '\f',
  "\r"  =>  '\r',
  "\xe" => '\u000e',
  "\xf" => '\u000f',
  "\x10" => '\u0010',
  "\x11" => '\u0011',
  "\x12" => '\u0012',
  "\x13" => '\u0013',
  "\x14" => '\u0014',
  "\x15" => '\u0015',
  "\x16" => '\u0016',
  "\x17" => '\u0017',
  "\x18" => '\u0018',
  "\x19" => '\u0019',
  "\x1a" => '\u001a',
  "\x1b" => '\u001b',
  "\x1c" => '\u001c',
  "\x1d" => '\u001d',
  "\x1e" => '\u001e',
  "\x1f" => '\u001f',
  '"'   =>  '\"',
  '\\'  =>  '\\\\',
}

Class Attribute Summary collapse

Class Method Summary collapse

Class Attribute Details

.create_id ⇒ Object

This is create identifier, which is used to decide if the json_create hook of a class should be called. It defaults to ‘json_class’.



96
97
98
 
# File 'lib/json/common.rb', line 96

def create_id
  @create_id
end

.dump_default_options ⇒ Object

The global default options for the JSON.dump method:

:max_nesting: false
:allow_nan:   true
:allow_blank: true



362
363
364
 
# File 'lib/json/common.rb', line 362

def dump_default_options
  @dump_default_options
end

.generator ⇒ Object

Returns the JSON generator module that is used by JSON. This is either JSON::Ext::Generator or JSON::Pure::Generator.



88
89
90
 
# File 'lib/json/common.rb', line 88

def generator
  @generator
end

.load_default_options ⇒ Object

The global default options for the JSON.load method:

:max_nesting: false
:allow_nan:   true
:allow_blank:  true



300
301
302
 
# File 'lib/json/common.rb', line 300

def load_default_options
  @load_default_options
end

.parser ⇒ Object

Returns the JSON parser class that is used by JSON. This is either JSON::Ext::Parser or JSON::Pure::Parser.



23
24
25
 
# File 'lib/json/common.rb', line 23

def parser
  @parser
end

.state ⇒ Object

Returns the JSON generator state class that is used by JSON. This is either JSON::Ext::Generator::State or JSON::Pure::Generator::State.



92
93
94
 
# File 'lib/json/common.rb', line 92

def state
  @state
end

Class Method Details

.[](object, opts = {}) ⇒ Object

If object is string-like, parse the string and return the parsed result as a Ruby data structure. Otherwise generate a JSON text from the Ruby data structure object and return it.

The opts argument is passed through to generate/parse respectively. See generate and parse for their documentation.



13
14
15
16
17
18
19
 
# File 'lib/json/common.rb', line 13

def [](object, opts = {})
  if object.respond_to? :to_str
    JSON.parse(object.to_str, opts)
  else
    JSON.generate(object, opts)
  end
end

.deep_const_get(path) ⇒ Object

Return the constant located at path. The format of path has to be either ::A::B::C or A::B::C. In any case, A has to be located at the top level (absolute namespace path?). If there doesn’t exist a constant at the given path, an ArgumentError is raised.



36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
 
# File 'lib/json/common.rb', line 36

def deep_const_get(path) # :nodoc:
  path.to_s.split(/::/).inject(Object) do |p, c|
    case
    when c.empty?                  then p
    when p.const_defined?(c, true) then p.const_get(c)
    else
      begin
        p.const_missing(c)
      rescue NameError => e
        raise ArgumentError, "can't get const #{path}: #{e}"
      end
    end
  end
end

.dump(obj, anIO = nil, limit = nil) ⇒ Object

Dumps obj as a JSON string, i.e. calls generate on the object and returns the result.

If anIO (an IO-like object or an object that responds to the write method) was given, the resulting JSON is written to it.

If the number of nested arrays or objects exceeds limit, an ArgumentError exception is raised. This argument is similar (but not exactly the same!) to the limit argument in Marshal.dump.

The default options for the generator can be changed via the dump_default_options method.

This method is part of the implementation of the load/dump interface of Marshal and YAML.



384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
 
# File 'lib/json/common.rb', line 384

def dump(obj, anIO = nil, limit = nil)
  if anIO and limit.nil?
    anIO = anIO.to_io if anIO.respond_to?(:to_io)
    unless anIO.respond_to?(:write)
      limit = anIO
      anIO = nil
    end
  end
  opts = JSON.dump_default_options
  opts = opts.merge(:max_nesting => limit) if limit
  result = generate(obj, opts)
  if anIO
    anIO.write result
    anIO
  else
    result
  end
rescue JSON::NestingError
  raise ArgumentError, "exceed depth limit"
end

.fast_generate(obj, opts = nil) ⇒ Object Also known as: fast_unparse

Generate a JSON document from the Ruby data structure obj and return it. This method disables the checks for circles in Ruby objects.

WARNING: Be careful not to pass any Ruby data structures with circles as obj argument because this will cause JSON to go into an infinite loop.



239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
 
# File 'lib/json/common.rb', line 239

def fast_generate(obj, opts = nil)
  if State === opts
    state, opts = opts, nil
  else
    state = FAST_STATE_PROTOTYPE.dup
  end
  if opts
    if opts.respond_to? :to_hash
      opts = opts.to_hash
    elsif opts.respond_to? :to_h
      opts = opts.to_h
    else
      raise TypeError, "can't convert #{opts.class} into Hash"
    end
    state.configure(opts)
  end
  state.generate(obj)
end

.generate(obj, opts = nil) ⇒ Object Also known as: unparse

Generate a JSON document from the Ruby data structure obj and return it. state is * a JSON::State object,

  • or a Hash like object (responding to to_hash),

  • an object convertible into a hash by a to_h method,

that is used as or to configure a State object.

It defaults to a state object, that creates the shortest possible JSON text in one line, checks for circular data structures and doesn’t allow NaN, Infinity, and -Infinity.

A state hash can have the following keys:

  • indent: a string used to indent levels (default: ”),

  • space: a string that is put after, a : or , delimiter (default: ”),

  • space_before: a string that is put before a : pair delimiter (default: ”),

  • object_nl: a string that is put at the end of a JSON object (default: ”),

  • array_nl: a string that is put at the end of a JSON array (default: ”),

  • allow_nan: true if NaN, Infinity, and -Infinity should be generated, otherwise an exception is thrown if these values are encountered. This options defaults to false.

  • max_nesting: The maximum depth of nesting allowed in the data structures from which JSON is to be generated. Disable depth checking with :max_nesting => false, it defaults to 100.

See also the fast_generate for the fastest creation method with the least amount of sanity checks, and the pretty_generate method for some defaults for pretty output.



208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
 
# File 'lib/json/common.rb', line 208

def generate(obj, opts = nil)
  if State === opts
    state, opts = opts, nil
  else
    state = SAFE_STATE_PROTOTYPE.dup
  end
  if opts
    if opts.respond_to? :to_hash
      opts = opts.to_hash
    elsif opts.respond_to? :to_h
      opts = opts.to_h
    else
      raise TypeError, "can't convert #{opts.class} into Hash"
    end
    state = state.configure(opts)
  end
  state.generate(obj)
end

.iconv(to, from, string) ⇒ Object

Encodes string using Ruby’s String.encode



406
407
408
 
# File 'lib/json/common.rb', line 406

def self.iconv(to, from, string)
  string.encode(to, from)
end

.load(source, proc = nil, options = {}) ⇒ Object Also known as: restore

Load a ruby data structure from a JSON source and return it. A source can either be a string-like object, an IO-like object, or an object responding to the read method. If proc was given, it will be called with any nested Ruby object as an argument recursively in depth first order. To modify the default options pass in the optional options argument as well.

BEWARE: This method is meant to serialise data from trusted user input, like from your own database server or clients under your control, it could be dangerous to allow untrusted users to pass JSON sources into it. The default options for the parser can be changed via the load_default_options method.

This method is part of the implementation of the load/dump interface of Marshal and YAML.



323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
 
# File 'lib/json/common.rb', line 323

def load(source, proc = nil, options = {})
  opts = load_default_options.merge options
  if source.respond_to? :to_str
    source = source.to_str
  elsif source.respond_to? :to_io
    source = source.to_io.read
  elsif source.respond_to?(:read)
    source = source.read
  end
  if opts[:allow_blank] && (source.nil? || source.empty?)
    source = 'null'
  end
  result = parse(source, opts)
  recurse_proc(result, &proc) if proc
  result
end

.parse(source, opts = {}) ⇒ Object

Parse the JSON document source into a Ruby data structure and return it.

opts can have the following keys:

  • max_nesting: The maximum depth of nesting allowed in the parsed data structures. Disable depth checking with :max_nesting => false. It defaults to 100.

  • allow_nan: If set to true, allow NaN, Infinity and -Infinity in defiance of RFC 7159 to be parsed by the Parser. This option defaults to false.

  • symbolize_names: If set to true, returns symbols for the names (keys) in a JSON object. Otherwise strings are returned. Strings are the default.

  • create_additions: If set to false, the Parser doesn’t create additions even if a matching class and create_id was found. This option defaults to false.

  • object_class: Defaults to Hash

  • array_class: Defaults to Array



155
156
157
 
# File 'lib/json/common.rb', line 155

def parse(source, opts = {})
  Parser.new(source, opts).parse
end

.parse!(source, opts = {}) ⇒ Object

Parse the JSON document source into a Ruby data structure and return it. The bang version of the parse method defaults to the more dangerous values for the opts hash, so be sure only to parse trusted source documents.

opts can have the following keys:

  • max_nesting: The maximum depth of nesting allowed in the parsed data structures. Enable depth checking with :max_nesting => anInteger. The parse! methods defaults to not doing max depth checking: This can be dangerous if someone wants to fill up your stack.

  • allow_nan: If set to true, allow NaN, Infinity, and -Infinity in defiance of RFC 7159 to be parsed by the Parser. This option defaults to true.

  • create_additions: If set to false, the Parser doesn’t create additions even if a matching class and create_id was found. This option defaults to false.



174
175
176
177
178
179
180
 
# File 'lib/json/common.rb', line 174

def parse!(source, opts = {})
  opts = {
    :max_nesting  => false,
    :allow_nan    => true
  }.merge(opts)
  Parser.new(source, opts).parse
end

.pretty_generate(obj, opts = nil) ⇒ Object Also known as: pretty_unparse

Generate a JSON document from the Ruby data structure obj and return it. The returned document is a prettier form of the document returned by #unparse.

The opts argument can be used to configure the generator. See the generate method for a more detailed explanation.



270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
 
# File 'lib/json/common.rb', line 270

def pretty_generate(obj, opts = nil)
  if State === opts
    state, opts = opts, nil
  else
    state = PRETTY_STATE_PROTOTYPE.dup
  end
  if opts
    if opts.respond_to? :to_hash
      opts = opts.to_hash
    elsif opts.respond_to? :to_h
      opts = opts.to_h
    else
      raise TypeError, "can't convert #{opts.class} into Hash"
    end
    state.configure(opts)
  end
  state.generate(obj)
end

.recurse_proc(result, &proc) ⇒ Object

Recursively calls passed Proc if the parsed data structure is an Array or Hash



341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
 
# File 'lib/json/common.rb', line 341

def recurse_proc(result, &proc)
  case result
  when Array
    result.each { |x| recurse_proc x, &proc }
    proc.call result
  when Hash
    result.each { |x, y| recurse_proc x, &proc; recurse_proc y, &proc }
    proc.call result
  else
    proc.call result
  end
end

.utf8_to_json(string) ⇒ Object

Convert a UTF8 encoded Ruby string string to a JSON string, encoded with UTF16 big endian characters as u????, and return it.



42
43
44
45
46
47
48
 
# File 'lib/json/pure/generator.rb', line 42

def utf8_to_json(string) # :nodoc:
  string = string.dup
  string.force_encoding(::Encoding::ASCII_8BIT)
  string.gsub!(/["\\\x0-\x1f]/) { MAP[$&] }
  string.force_encoding(::Encoding::UTF_8)
  string
end

.utf8_to_json_ascii(string) ⇒ Object

:nodoc:



50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
 
# File 'lib/json/pure/generator.rb', line 50

def utf8_to_json_ascii(string) # :nodoc:
  string = string.dup
  string.force_encoding(::Encoding::ASCII_8BIT)
  string.gsub!(/["\\\x0-\x1f]/n) { MAP[$&] }
  string.gsub!(/(
    (?:
     [\xc2-\xdf][\x80-\xbf]    |
     [\xe0-\xef][\x80-\xbf]{2} |
     [\xf0-\xf4][\x80-\xbf]{3}
    )+ |
    [\x80-\xc1\xf5-\xff]       # invalid
  )/nx) { |c|
    c.size == 1 and raise GeneratorError, "invalid utf8 byte: '#{c}'"
    s = JSON.iconv('utf-16be', 'utf-8', c).unpack('H*')[0]
    s.force_encoding(::Encoding::ASCII_8BIT)
    s.gsub!(/.{4}/n, '\\\\u\&')
    s.force_encoding(::Encoding::UTF_8)
  }
  string.force_encoding(::Encoding::UTF_8)
  string
rescue => e
  raise GeneratorError.wrap(e)
end

.valid_utf8?(string) ⇒ Boolean

Returns:

  • (Boolean) 


74
75
76
77
78
 
# File 'lib/json/pure/generator.rb', line 74

def valid_utf8?(string)
  encoding = string.encoding
  (encoding == Encoding::UTF_8 || encoding == Encoding::ASCII) &&
    string.valid_encoding?
end