Store maps with enum keys as objects (opt-in) (#5600)

* Store maps with enum keys as objects (opt-in)

Maps with enum keys, such as std::map<E, T>, are stored as arrays of
[key, value] pairs, because enums are not convertible to the string type
of object keys - even if NLOHMANN_JSON_SERIALIZE_ENUM maps them to
strings (#4378).

The new JSON_USE_OBJECTS_FOR_ENUM_KEYED_MAPS macro stores them as objects
instead, converting each key with the enum's to_json. It applies to any
map-like type with enum keys (std::map with any comparator,
std::unordered_map, ...). A key that does not convert to a string throws
type_error.302, and two keys converting to the same string throw the new
type_error.318, rather than losing an entry. The macro changes the output
of inline functions, so it is part of the ABI tag (_ekmo).

Reading needs no macro: std::map and std::unordered_map with enum keys
are now also read from objects, converting each key with the enum's
from_json. That input was rejected before, and arrays of pairs are still
read, so data written either way can be read.

This supersedes #4531, which first proposed storing these maps as
objects.

Co-authored-by: Muhammad Amir bin Mohamad Ghazaly <amirghaz@umich.edu>
Signed-off-by: Niels Lohmann <mail@nlohmann.me>

* Keep multimaps with enum keys as arrays of pairs

With JSON_USE_OBJECTS_FOR_ENUM_KEYED_MAPS, is_enum_keyed_map also matched
std::multimap and std::unordered_multimap. Storing them as objects throws
type_error.318 as soon as a key occurs twice, which is the normal case for
a multimap, so such values could no longer be serialized at all once the
macro was enabled, although they are stored losslessly as arrays of
[key, value] pairs without it.

Exclude maps with non-unique keys from is_enum_keyed_map. They are
detected by insert(value_type) returning an iterator rather than a
pair<iterator, bool>. Map-like types without such an insert() are still
treated as before.

Signed-off-by: Niels Lohmann <mail@nlohmann.me>

* Move the default enum-keyed map tests out of unit-conversions.cpp

The Windows clang 20.1.8 job (MinGW, Debug) failed to link
test-conversions_cpp17 with "relocation truncated to fit:
IMAGE_REL_AMD64_REL32 against .rdata": the object file of
unit-conversions.cpp was already close to the limit, and the new
"maps with enum keys" test case pushed it over. windows.yml asks to keep
these objects small by splitting test files.

Move the test case unchanged into unit-enum_keyed_maps_default.cpp,
with the three enums it needs. It still honors a -D flag for
JSON_USE_OBJECTS_FOR_ENUM_KEYED_MAPS, as before. unit-conversions.cpp
is back to its state on develop.

Signed-off-by: Niels Lohmann <mail@nlohmann.me>

* Build the enum-keyed map test object instead of parsing it

ci_test_diagnostic_positions failed in unit-enum_keyed_maps_default.cpp:
with JSON_DIAGNOSTIC_POSITIONS, a parsed value adds its byte range to
the exception message ("(bytes 0-7) type must be array, but is
object"), so the exact-message checks did not match. Build the object
in memory, like unit-custom-array-type.cpp does.

Signed-off-by: Niels Lohmann <mail@nlohmann.me>

---------

Signed-off-by: Niels Lohmann <mail@nlohmann.me>
Co-authored-by: Muhammad Amir bin Mohamad Ghazaly <amirghaz@umich.edu>
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Niels LohmannandMuhammad Amir bin Mohamad Ghazaly authored and GitHub committed 2026-10-04 17:54:05 +02:00
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@@ -596,6 +596,9 @@ During implicit or explicit value conversion, the JSON type must be compatible w
[json.exception.type_error.302] type must be string, but is object
```
This exception is also thrown with [`JSON_USE_OBJECTS_FOR_ENUM_KEYED_MAPS`](../api/macros/json_use_objects_for_enum_keyed_maps.md)
if a key of a map with enum keys is not converted to a string, for instance, because the enum is stored as an integer.
### json.exception.type_error.303
To retrieve a reference to a value stored in a `basic_json` object with `get_ref`, the type of the reference must match the value type. For instance, for a JSON array, the `ReferenceType` must be `array_t &`.
@@ -788,6 +791,19 @@ The dynamic type of the object cannot be represented in the requested serializat
Encapsulate the JSON value in an object. That is, instead of serializing `#!json true`, serialize `#!json {"value": true}`
### json.exception.type_error.318
With [`JSON_USE_OBJECTS_FOR_ENUM_KEYED_MAPS`](../api/macros/json_use_objects_for_enum_keyed_maps.md), a map with enum
keys is stored as an object. This exception is thrown if two of its keys are converted to the same string, so one of the
entries would be lost. This happens, for instance, if [`NLOHMANN_JSON_SERIALIZE_ENUM`](../api/macros/nlohmann_json_serialize_enum.md)
does not list an enumerator and it is therefore converted like the first listed one.
!!! failure "Example message"
```
[json.exception.type_error.318] duplicate object key 'red'
```
## Out of range
This exception is thrown in case a library function is called on an input parameter that exceeds the expected range, for instance, in the case of array indices or nonexisting object keys.