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Understanding JSON Array vs JSON Object

See more JSON Examples

This example explains the difference between a JSON Array and a JSON Object. A JSON Array begins with "[" and ends with "]", whereas a JSON Object begins with "{" and ends with "}".

Elements contained in a JSON array are accessed by index, whereas elements in a JSON object are typically accessed by name (but can also be accessed by index).

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Dim success As Boolean = False

'  A JSON array should be loaded into a Chilkat JSON array,
'  whereas a JSON object should be loaded into a Chilkat JSON object.

'  A JSON array may contain objects, and a JSON object may contains arrays, but
'  it is the top-level (outermost) element that defines whether the JSON
'  document is an array or an object.
'  An array begins and ends with "[" ... "]"
'  An object begins and ends with "{" ... "}"

'  For example, an array containing 2 objects:
Dim strJsonArray As String = "[ { " & Chr(34) & "name" & Chr(34) & ": " & Chr(34) & "Bill" & Chr(34) & " }, { " & Chr(34) & "name" & Chr(34) & ": " & Chr(34) & "Ted" & Chr(34) & " } ]"

'  Load it into a JSON array.
Dim jsonA As ChilkatJsonArray
jsonA.Initialize
success = jsonA.Load(strJsonArray)
Log("number of array elements: " & jsonA.Size)

'  This is an object containing an array:
Dim strJsonObj As String = "{ " & Chr(34) & "characters" & Chr(34) & ": [ " & Chr(34) & "Bill" & Chr(34) & ", " & Chr(34) & "Ted" & Chr(34) & " ] }"

'  Load it into a JSON object.
Dim jsonO As ChilkatJsonObject
jsonO.Initialize
success = jsonO.Load(strJsonObj)
Log("number of object members: " & jsonO.Size)