Lua

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).

Lua

local chilkat = require("chilkat")

-- 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:
local strJsonArray = "[ { \"name\": \"Bill\" }, { \"name\": \"Ted\" } ]"

-- Load it into a JSON array.
local jsonA = chilkat.JsonArray.new()
local success = jsonA:load(strJsonArray)
print("number of array elements: " .. jsonA.size)

-- This is an object containing an array:
local strJsonObj = "{ \"characters\": [ \"Bill\", \"Ted\" ] }"

-- Load it into a JSON object.
local jsonO = chilkat.JsonObject.new()
success = jsonO:load(strJsonObj)
print("number of object members: " .. jsonO.size)