Is it possible to convert an object and/or a nested array with objects into a JSON string without relying on JSON.stringify?

Question

Is it possible to convert an object and/or a nested array with objects into a JSON string without relying on JSON.stringify?

Struggling to generate a correct JSON string from an object without relying on JSON.stringify().

Presenting my current implementation below -

var my_json_encode = function(input) {

  if(typeof(input) === "string"){
      return '"'+input+'"'
  }
  if(typeof(input) === "number"){
      return `${input}`
  }

  if(Array.isArray(input)) {
     const formattedArrayMembers = input.map(value => my_json_encode(value)).join(',');
     return `[${formattedArrayMembers}]`;
  }

  *****Issue lies here*******
  if(typeof(input) === "object" && !Array.isArray(input)) {
    let temp = "";
    for (let [key, value] of Object.entries(input)) {
            let val = `${key} : ${value}`;
            temp +=  my_json_encode(val)
    }
    return `{${temp}}`
  }
}

Current input is -> {"key1":"val1","key2":"val2"}
Expected output is -> {"key1":"val1","key2":"val2"}

Current output using object type check in my_json_encode -> {"key1 : val1""key2 : val2"}

Feels like I'm close but there's a missing piece in my logic. Been staring at this for too long and could use some guidance.

If I can get the object encoder working, I believe I can recursively apply it to handle more complex inputs like:

Expected Output-> [1,"a",{"key1":"value1","key2":null,"key3":[4,"b"],"key5":{"inner1":"innerval1","inner2":9}}]

Had a similar question regarding converting an array to a JSON string answered here

javascript arrays json recursion javascript-objects

Answer 1

Answer №1

The primary concern revolves around enclosing the entire key in double quotes when iterating through the entries and utilizing my_json_encode for the value:

"${key}: ${my_json_encode(value)}"

Additionally, each key-value pair should be connected with a ,, achieved by converting each pair into the mentioned string format and then concatenating them using .join(',').

Escaping any occurrences of " within keys or string values is necessary, along with understanding that typeof functions as an operator rather than a function - it can be employed like typeof someVar:

var my_json_encode = function(input) {

  if (typeof input === "string") {
    return '"' + input.replace(/"/g, '\\"') + '"'
  }
  if (typeof input === "number") {
    return input;
  }

  if (Array.isArray(input)) {
    const formattedArrayMembers = input.map(my_json_encode).join(',');
    return `[${formattedArrayMembers}]`;
  }
  if (input === null) return 'null';
  // If it's not an array, it's a non-array object
  const keyValStrArray = Object.entries(input).map(([key, val]) => (
    `"${key.replace(/"/g, '\\"')}":${my_json_encode(val)}`
  ));
  return `{${keyValStrArray.join(',')}}`;
};

console.log(my_json_encode({ "key1": "val1", "key2": "val2" }));
console.log(my_json_encode([1,"a",{"key1":"value1","key2":null,"key3":[4,"b"],"key5":{"inner1":"innerval1","inner2":9}}]));

Answer 2

The primary concern revolves around enclosing the entire key in double quotes when iterating through the entries and utilizing my_json_encode for the value:

"${key}: ${my_json_encode(value)}"

Additionally, each key-value pair should be connected with a ,, achieved by converting each pair into the mentioned string format and then concatenating them using .join(',').

Escaping any occurrences of " within keys or string values is necessary, along with understanding that typeof functions as an operator rather than a function - it can be employed like typeof someVar:

var my_json_encode = function(input) {

  if (typeof input === "string") {
    return '"' + input.replace(/"/g, '\\"') + '"'
  }
  if (typeof input === "number") {
    return input;
  }

  if (Array.isArray(input)) {
    const formattedArrayMembers = input.map(my_json_encode).join(',');
    return `[${formattedArrayMembers}]`;
  }
  if (input === null) return 'null';
  // If it's not an array, it's a non-array object
  const keyValStrArray = Object.entries(input).map(([key, val]) => (
    `"${key.replace(/"/g, '\\"')}":${my_json_encode(val)}`
  ));
  return `{${keyValStrArray.join(',')}}`;
};

console.log(my_json_encode({ "key1": "val1", "key2": "val2" }));
console.log(my_json_encode([1,"a",{"key1":"value1","key2":null,"key3":[4,"b"],"key5":{"inner1":"innerval1","inner2":9}}]));

Answer 3

Answer №2

To handle objects, you can create an array called temp and push key-value pairs as key: my_json_encode(value) to it. Then concatenate them with , before enclosing the result in curly braces {}:

var my_json_encode = function(input) {

  if (input === null) {
    return "null";
  }

  if (typeof(input) === "string") {
    return `"${input}"`;
  }
  if (typeof(input) === "number") {
    return `${input}`;
  }

  if (Array.isArray(input)) {
    const formattedArrayMembers = input.map(value => my_json_encode(value)).join(',');
    return `[${formattedArrayMembers}]`;
  }

  if (typeof(input) === "object") {
    let temp = [];
    for (let [key, value] of Object.entries(input)) {
      temp.push(`"${key}" : ${my_json_encode(value)}`);
    }
    return `{${temp.join(', ')}}`;
  }
}

console.log(my_json_encode({key1:"val1",key2:3}));
console.log(my_json_encode([1,"a",{"key1":"value1","key2":null,"key3":[4,"b"],"key5":{"inner1":"innerval1","inner2":9}}]));

Answer 4

To handle objects, you can create an array called temp and push key-value pairs as key: my_json_encode(value) to it. Then concatenate them with , before enclosing the result in curly braces {}:

var my_json_encode = function(input) {

  if (input === null) {
    return "null";
  }

  if (typeof(input) === "string") {
    return `"${input}"`;
  }
  if (typeof(input) === "number") {
    return `${input}`;
  }

  if (Array.isArray(input)) {
    const formattedArrayMembers = input.map(value => my_json_encode(value)).join(',');
    return `[${formattedArrayMembers}]`;
  }

  if (typeof(input) === "object") {
    let temp = [];
    for (let [key, value] of Object.entries(input)) {
      temp.push(`"${key}" : ${my_json_encode(value)}`);
    }
    return `{${temp.join(', ')}}`;
  }
}

console.log(my_json_encode({key1:"val1",key2:3}));
console.log(my_json_encode([1,"a",{"key1":"value1","key2":null,"key3":[4,"b"],"key5":{"inner1":"innerval1","inner2":9}}]));

Is it possible to convert an object and/or a nested array with objects into a JSON string without relying on JSON.stringify?

Answer №1

Answer №2

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