What is JSON

SuperObject

What is JSON ?

JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is a lightweight data-interchange format.
It is easy for humans to read and write. 
It is easy for machines to parse and generate. 
It is based on a subset of the JavaScript Programming Language, Standard ECMA-262 3rd Edition - December 1999. 
JSON is a text format that is completely language independent but uses conventions that are familiar to programmers.
These properties make JSON an ideal data-interchange language.
You can get more informations on json.org.

{
  "name": "Henri Gourvest", /* this is a comment */
  "vip": true,
  "telephones": ["000000000", "111111111111"],
  "age": 33,
  "size": 1.83,
  "adresses": [
    {
      "adress": "blabla",
      "city": "Metz",
      "pc": 57000
    },
    {
      "adress": "blabla",
      "city": "Nantes",
      "pc": 44000
    }
  ]
}

Parsing a JSON data structure

var
  obj: ISuperObject;
begin
  obj := SO('{"foo": true}');
  obj := TSuperObject.ParseString('{"foo": true}');
  obj := TSuperObject.ParseStream(stream);
  obj := TSuperObject.ParseFile(FileName);
end;

Accessing data

There isn't individual datastructure for each supported data types.
They are all an object: the ISuperObject.

  val := obj.AsString;
  val := obj.AsInteger;
  val := obj.AsBoolean;
  val := obj.AsDouble;
  val := obj.AsArray;
  val := obj.AsObject;
  val := obj.AsMethod;

How to read a property value of an object ?

  val := obj.AsObject.S['foo']; // get a
 string
  val := obj.AsObject.I['foo']; // get an Int64
  val := obj.AsObject.B['foo']; // get a Boolean
  val := obj.AsObject.D['foo']; // get a Double
  val := obj.AsObject.O['foo']; // get an Object (default)
  val := obj.AsObject.M['foo']; // get a Method
  val := obj.AsObject.N['foo']; // get a null object

How to read a value from an array ?

  // the advanced way
  val := obj.AsArray.S[0]; // get a string
  val := obj.AsArray.I[0]; // get an Int64
  val := obj.AsArray.B[0]; // get a Boolean
  val := obj.AsArray.D[0]; // get a Double
  val := obj.AsArray.O[0]; // get an Object (default)
  val := obj.AsArray.M[0]; // get a Method
  val := obj.AsArray.N[0]; // get a null object

Using paths

Using paths is a very productive method to find an object when you know where is it.
This is some usage cases:

  obj['foo']; // get a property
  obj['123']; // get an item array
  obj['foo.list']; // get a property from an object
  obj['foo[123]']; // get an item array from an object
  obj['foo(1,2,3)']; // call a method
  obj['foo[]'] := value; // add an item array

you also can encapsulate paths:

  obj := so('{"index": 1, "items": ["item 1", "item 2", "item 3"]}');
  obj['items[index]'] // return "item 2"

or recreate a new data structure from another:

  obj := so('{"index": 1, "items": ["item 1", "item 2", "item 3"]}');
  obj['{"item": items[index], "index": index}'] // return {"item": "item 2", "index": 1}

Browsing data structure

Using Delphi enumerator.

Using Delphi enumerator you can browse item's array or property's object value in the same maner.

var
  item: ISuperObject;
begin
  for item in obj['items'] do ...

you can also browse the keys and values of an object like this:

var
  item: TSuperAvlEntry;
begin
  for item in obj.AsObject do ...
  begin
    item.Name;
    item.Value;
  end;

Browsing object properties without enumerator

var
  item: TSuperObjectIter;
begin
  if ObjectFindFirst(obj, item) then
  repeat
    item.key;
    item.val;
  until not ObjectFindNext(item);
  ObjectFindClose(item);

Browsing array items without enumerator

var
  item: Integer;
begin
  for item := 0 to obj.AsArray.Length - 1 do
    obj.AsArray[item]

RTTI & marshalling in Delphi 2010

type
  TData = record
    str: string;
    int: Integer;
    bool: Boolean;
    flt: Double;
  end;
var
  ctx: TSuperRttiContext;
  data: TData;
  obj: ISuperObject;
begin
  ctx := TSuperRttiContext.Create;
  try
    data := ctx.AsType<TData>(SO('{str: "foo", int: 123, bool: true, flt: 1.23}'));
    obj := ctx.AsJson<TData>(data);
  finally
    ctx.Free;
  end;
end;

Saving data

  obj.AsJSon(options);
  obj.SaveTo(stream);
  obj.SaveTo(filename);

Helpers

  SO(['prop1', true, 'prop2', 123
]); // return an object {"prop1": true, "prop2": 123}
  SA([true, 123]); // return an array [true, 123]

Non canonical forms

The SuperObject is able to parse non canonical forms.

// unquoted identifiers
SO('{foo: true}');
// unescaped or unquoted strings
SO('{собственность: bla bla bla}');
// excadecimal
SO('{foo: \xFF}');