rhai/doc/src/language/json.md

Parse an Object Map from JSON

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The syntax for an [object map] is extremely similar to the JSON representation of a object hash, with the exception of null values which can technically be mapped to [()].

A valid JSON string does not start with a hash character # while a Rhai [object map] does - that's the major difference!

Use the Engine::parse_json method to parse a piece of JSON into an object map. The JSON text must represent a single object hash (i.e. must be wrapped within "{ .. }") otherwise it returns a syntax error.

// JSON string - notice that JSON property names are always quoted
//               notice also that comments are acceptable within the JSON string
let json = r#"{
                "a": 1,                 // <- this is an integer number
                "b": true,
                "c": 123.0,             // <- this is a floating-point number
                "$d e f!": "hello",     // <- any text can be a property name
                "^^^!!!": [1,42,"999"], // <- value can be array or another hash
                "z": null               // <- JSON 'null' value
              }
"#;

// Parse the JSON expression as an object map
// Set the second boolean parameter to true in order to map 'null' to '()'
let map = engine.parse_json(json, true)?;

map.len() == 6;       // 'map' contains all properties in the JSON string

// Put the object map into a 'Scope'
let mut scope = Scope::new();
scope.push("map", map);

let result = engine.eval_with_scope::<INT>(r#"map["^^^!!!"].len()"#)?;

result == 3;          // the object map is successfully used in the script

Representation of Numbers

JSON numbers are all floating-point while Rhai supports integers (INT) and floating-point (FLOAT) if the [no_float] feature is not used.

Most common generators of JSON data distinguish between integer and floating-point values by always serializing a floating-point number with a decimal point (i.e. 123.0 instead of 123 which is assumed to be an integer).

This style can be used successfully with Rhai [object maps].

Parse JSON with Sub-Objects

Engine::parse_json depends on the fact that the [object map] literal syntax in Rhai is almost the same as a JSON object. However, it is almost because the syntax for a sub-object in JSON (i.e. "{ ... }") is different from a Rhai [object map] literal (i.e. "#{ ... }").

When Engine::parse_json encounters JSON with sub-objects, it fails with a syntax error.

If it is certain that no text string in the JSON will ever contain the character '{', then it is possible to parse it by first replacing all occupance of '{' with "#{".

A JSON object hash starting with #{ is handled transparently by Engine::parse_json.

// JSON with sub-object 'b'.
let json = r#"{"a":1, "b":{"x":true, "y":false}}"#;

// Our JSON text does not contain the '{' character, so off we go!
let new_json = json.replace("{", "#{");

// The leading '{' will also be replaced to '#{', but 'parse_json' handles this just fine.
let map = engine.parse_json(&new_json, false)?;

map.len() == 2;       // 'map' contains two properties: 'a' and 'b'

Use serde to Serialize/Deserialize to/from JSON

Remember, Engine::parse_json is nothing more than a cheap alternative to true JSON parsing.

If correctness is needed, or for more configuration possibilities, turn on the [serde][features] feature to pull in the serde crate which enables serialization and deserialization to/from multiple formats, including JSON.

Beware, though... the serde crate is quite heavy.

See [Serialization/Deserialization of Dynamic with serde][serde] for more details.