Document element access, lookup, and iteration of json_view

- API pages for operator[], at, front, back, find, contains, count,
  begin, end, cbegin, cend, items, and type_name of basic_json_view,
  linked both ways with the basic_json pages
- the feature page and size() describe document order and duplicate
  keys
- the examples show when the view helps: reading a few fields of a large
  text, probing optional members, and members in source order

Signed-off-by: Niels Lohmann <mail@nlohmann.me>
This commit is contained in:
Niels Lohmann
2026-09-30 21:01:33 +02:00
parent 7dae258350
commit 08dcdaf9b8
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# <small>nlohmann::basic_json_view::</small>front
```cpp
basic_json_view front() const;
```
Returns the first element of an array, the first member value of an object, or the value itself if it is primitive
(as for [`BasicJsonType::front()`](../basic_json/front.md), a primitive value is a range of one element).
## Return value
The first element or member value. For a primitive value (number, string, boolean), the value itself.
## Exception safety
Strong exception safety: if an exception is thrown, there are no changes to the view or the document it refers to.
## Exceptions
Throws [`invalid_iterator.214`](../../home/exceptions.md#jsonexceptioninvalid_iterator214) if the view is
[null](is_null.md) or [discarded](is_discarded.md), or if it is an empty array or object.
This exception does not carry a [`JSON_DIAGNOSTICS`](../macros/json_diagnostics.md) path: the view has no
`BasicJsonType` value to point at, so the exception is created without one, even if `BasicJsonType` was built with
`JSON_DIAGNOSTICS` enabled.
## Complexity
Constant.
## Notes
Unlike [`BasicJsonType::front()`](../basic_json/front.md), which has undefined behavior for an empty array or
object, `front()` throws `invalid_iterator.214` in that case -- the same way it already does for `#!json null` and
for a discarded view, where `BasicJsonType::front()` also throws.
## Examples
??? example
The example below reads only the earliest entry of a build log with `front()`, without materializing the rest
of the (possibly long) log.
```cpp
--8<-- "examples/basic_json_view__front.cpp"
```
Output:
```json
--8<-- "examples/basic_json_view__front.output"
```
## See also
- [back](back.md) - access the last element
- [`BasicJsonType::front`](../basic_json/front.md) - the corresponding function of `basic_json`
## Version history
- Added in version 3.13.0.