Add dump() and comparisons to json_view

Add basic_json_view::dump() and the comparison operators, and read
floats from the parser's digit layout instead of rescanning the
token.

dump(indent, indent_char, ensure_ascii, number_format) writes a
value the way ordered_json::parse(text).dump() writes it for the
same arguments: members in document order, all of them should a
key occur more than once; strings escaped by the same rules, using
the library's scanning kernels; floats written with the library's
to_chars conversion, so the output equals basic_json's byte for
byte; integers copied from the source, where they are already
canonical, except -0, which parse() reads as 0. There is no
error_handler argument, because the view only holds valid UTF-8.
number_format::source copies numbers exactly as they appear in the
source (e.g. "1.50", "1E2", "-0"), which basic_json cannot provide.
operator<< takes the indentation from the stream width, as for
basic_json. The writer walks iteratively, so nesting depth is
limited by memory only.

operator== and operator!= compare two views, or a view and a
basic_json value in either order, by the rules basic_json's
operator== uses: numbers compare by value across their types,
objects compare by their members with duplicate keys resolved as
parse() resolves them, member order matters only where the object
type keeps one, and discarded views compare as discarded basic_json
values do, including under JSON_USE_LEGACY_DISCARDED_VALUE_COMPARISON.
Nothing is materialized except single scalars.

While parsing, the view now records where the integer digits, the
fraction digits, and the exponent of a float token are, so floats
and doubles with at most 19 digits are read from that layout with
the library's decimal_to_float() instead of rescanning the token.
Both round correctly, so the values are those of parse(). get<double>(),
materialize(), dump(), and the comparisons all use it.

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

docs/docset/docSet.sql

@@ -154,6 +154,7 @@ INSERT INTO searchIndex(name, type, path) VALUES ('basic_json_view::cbegin', 'Me
 INSERT INTO searchIndex(name, type, path) VALUES ('basic_json_view::cend', 'Method', 'api/basic_json_view/cend/index.html');
 INSERT INTO searchIndex(name, type, path) VALUES ('basic_json_view::contains', 'Method', 'api/basic_json_view/contains/index.html');
 INSERT INTO searchIndex(name, type, path) VALUES ('basic_json_view::count', 'Method', 'api/basic_json_view/count/index.html');
+INSERT INTO searchIndex(name, type, path) VALUES ('basic_json_view::dump', 'Method', 'api/basic_json_view/dump/index.html');
 INSERT INTO searchIndex(name, type, path) VALUES ('basic_json_view::empty', 'Method', 'api/basic_json_view/empty/index.html');
 INSERT INTO searchIndex(name, type, path) VALUES ('basic_json_view::end', 'Method', 'api/basic_json_view/end/index.html');
 INSERT INTO searchIndex(name, type, path) VALUES ('basic_json_view::find', 'Method', 'api/basic_json_view/find/index.html');
@@ -176,9 +177,13 @@ INSERT INTO searchIndex(name, type, path) VALUES ('basic_json_view::is_string',
 INSERT INTO searchIndex(name, type, path) VALUES ('basic_json_view::is_structured', 'Method', 'api/basic_json_view/is_structured/index.html');
 INSERT INTO searchIndex(name, type, path) VALUES ('basic_json_view::items', 'Method', 'api/basic_json_view/items/index.html');
 INSERT INTO searchIndex(name, type, path) VALUES ('basic_json_view::materialize', 'Method', 'api/basic_json_view/materialize/index.html');
+INSERT INTO searchIndex(name, type, path) VALUES ('basic_json_view::number_format', 'Enum', 'api/basic_json_view/number_format/index.html');
 INSERT INTO searchIndex(name, type, path) VALUES ('basic_json_view::number_token', 'Method', 'api/basic_json_view/number_token/index.html');
 INSERT INTO searchIndex(name, type, path) VALUES ('basic_json_view::operator bool', 'Method', 'api/basic_json_view/operator_bool/index.html');
+INSERT INTO searchIndex(name, type, path) VALUES ('basic_json_view::operator<<', 'Operator', 'api/basic_json_view/operator_ltlt/index.html');
 INSERT INTO searchIndex(name, type, path) VALUES ('basic_json_view::operator[]', 'Operator', 'api/basic_json_view/operator[]/index.html');
+INSERT INTO searchIndex(name, type, path) VALUES ('basic_json_view::operator==', 'Operator', 'api/basic_json_view/operator_eq/index.html');
+INSERT INTO searchIndex(name, type, path) VALUES ('basic_json_view::operator!=', 'Operator', 'api/basic_json_view/operator_ne/index.html');
 INSERT INTO searchIndex(name, type, path) VALUES ('basic_json_view::size', 'Method', 'api/basic_json_view/size/index.html');
 INSERT INTO searchIndex(name, type, path) VALUES ('basic_json_view::source_offset', 'Method', 'api/basic_json_view/source_offset/index.html');
 INSERT INTO searchIndex(name, type, path) VALUES ('basic_json_view::type', 'Method', 'api/basic_json_view/type/index.html');

docs/mkdocs/docs/api/basic_json/dump.md

@@ -91,6 +91,8 @@ Binary values are serialized as an object containing two keys:
 
 - [to_string](to_string.md) returns a string representation of a JSON value
 - [operator<<](../operator_ltlt.md) serialize to stream
+- [`basic_json_view::dump`](../basic_json_view/dump.md) the corresponding function of `basic_json_view`, serializing
+  directly from a flat index without building a `basic_json` value
 - [Serialization](../../features/serialization.md) - the serialization article
 
 ## Version history

docs/mkdocs/docs/api/basic_json/operator_eq.md

@@ -171,6 +171,8 @@ Linear.
 
 - [operator!=](operator_ne.md) compare for inequality
 - [operator<=>](operator_spaceship.md) comparison: 3-way (C++20)
+- [basic_json_view::operator==](../basic_json_view/operator_eq.md) - the same comparison on a zero-copy view, without
+  building a `basic_json` value for it
 
 ## Version history
 

docs/mkdocs/docs/api/basic_json/operator_ne.md

@@ -95,6 +95,8 @@ Linear.
 
 - [operator==](operator_eq.md) comparison: equal
 - [operator<=>](operator_spaceship.md) comparison: 3-way (C++20)
+- [basic_json_view::operator!=](../basic_json_view/operator_ne.md) - the same comparison on a zero-copy view, without
+  building a `basic_json` value for it
 
 ## Version history
 

docs/mkdocs/docs/api/basic_json_view/dump.md

@@ -0,0 +1,102 @@
+# <small>nlohmann::basic_json_view::</small>dump
+
+```cpp
+string_t dump(const int indent = -1,
+              const char indent_char = ' ',
+              const bool ensure_ascii = false,
+              const number_format numbers = number_format::shortest) const;
+```
+
+Serializes this value (and its subtree) directly from the flat index, without ever building a `BasicJsonType` value
+first. With the default `#!cpp numbers == number_format::shortest`, the result is the same string
+[`BasicJsonType::dump`](../basic_json/dump.md) would produce for the value
+[`BasicJsonType::parse()`](../basic_json/parse.md) builds from the same source text, called with the same `indent`,
+`indent_char`, and `ensure_ascii` -- except that members of an object appear in document order rather than sorted by
+key, and *every* occurrence of a repeated key is written rather than only the last one (see
+[Notes on duplicate keys](operator[].md#notes)). For a `json_view` (whose `BasicJsonType` is not ordered), this means
+`dump()` can print an object's members in a different order than [`materialize()`](materialize.md)`.dump()` of the
+same subtree.
+
+## Parameters
+
+`indent` (in)
+:   If `indent` is nonnegative, array elements and object members are pretty-printed with that indent level. An
+    indent level of `0` only inserts newlines. `-1` (the default) selects the most compact representation.
+
+`indent_char` (in)
+:   The character used for indentation if `indent` is greater than `0`. The default is ` ` (space).
+
+`ensure_ascii` (in)
+:   If `ensure_ascii` is `#!cpp true`, all non-ASCII characters in the output are escaped with `\uXXXX` sequences, and
+    the result consists of ASCII characters only.
+
+`numbers` (in)
+:   how to write numbers, see [`number_format`](number_format.md): `shortest` (the default) writes them the way
+    [`BasicJsonType::dump`](../basic_json/dump.md) would; `source` copies every number exactly as it appears in the
+    source text.
+
+## Return value
+
+string containing the serialization of this value, or `#!cpp "<discarded>"` if the view is
+[discarded](is_discarded.md).
+
+## Exception safety
+
+Strong exception safety: if an exception is thrown, there are no changes to the view or the document it refers to.
+
+## Exceptions
+
+May throw `#!cpp std::bad_alloc` if allocating the output string fails. Unlike
+[`BasicJsonType::dump`](../basic_json/dump.md), there is no `error_handler` parameter and no
+[`type_error.316`](../../home/exceptions.md#jsonexceptiontype_error316): the view only ever holds text the parser
+already validated as UTF-8, so there is nothing to replace or ignore.
+
+## Complexity
+
+Linear in the size of the output text.
+
+## Notes
+
+The walk over the subtree is iterative, so the nesting depth it can write is limited by available memory only, not by
+the call stack -- as for [`materialize()`](materialize.md).
+
+Strings are escaped by the same rules as [`BasicJsonType::dump`](../basic_json/dump.md). With
+`#!cpp numbers == number_format::shortest`, floats are written with the library's shortest round-trip conversion,
+exactly as [`BasicJsonType::dump`](../basic_json/dump.md) would (e.g. `#!cpp 1.5`, `#!cpp 100.0`, `#!cpp 1e+100`), and
+integers are copied from the source text -- already canonical in JSON, so this matches their shortest form too --
+except that `#!cpp -0` is written as `#!cpp 0`, the way [`BasicJsonType::parse()`](../basic_json/parse.md) reads it.
+`#!cpp number_format::source` copies every number exactly as written in the source text instead, with no exception
+for `#!cpp -0` -- `#!cpp 1.50`, `#!cpp 1E2`, `#!cpp -0.0`, `#!cpp -0`, or all digits of an integer literal with more
+digits than any number type holds (such a literal is itself classified as a float, see
+[What is different](../../features/json_view.md#what-is-different)) -- something `BasicJsonType` cannot do, since
+parsing already reduces every number to its parsed value.
+
+## Examples
+
+??? example
+
+    The example below forwards a single record out of a larger batch, and re-serializes a configuration file, both
+    without ever building a `BasicJsonType` value for the surrounding array or for the parts of it that were not
+    needed. It also shows that [`materialize()`](materialize.md)`.dump()` of the configuration sorts its keys, where
+    `dump()` on the view keeps the order they appear in the source text.
+
+    ```cpp
+    --8<-- "examples/basic_json_view__dump.cpp"
+    ```
+
+    Output:
+
+    ```json
+    --8<-- "examples/basic_json_view__dump.output"
+    ```
+
+## See also
+
+- [`number_format`](number_format.md) - how `dump()` writes numbers
+- [operator<<](operator_ltlt.md) - serialize this value to a stream
+- [materialize](materialize.md) - build a `BasicJsonType` value, e.g. to use `BasicJsonType::dump`'s `error_handler`
+- [`BasicJsonType::dump`](../basic_json/dump.md) - the corresponding function of `basic_json`
+
+## Version history
+
+- Added in version 3.13.0.

docs/mkdocs/docs/api/basic_json_view/index.md

@@ -20,11 +20,12 @@ Moving the document itself does not invalidate its views: the index is heap-allo
 `basic_json_document` object.
 
 `basic_json_view` provides the read-only part of the `BasicJsonType` interface: the type-inspection functions, element
-access, lookup, iteration, and conversion -- [`get<T>()`](get.md), [`get_string()`](get_string.md),
+access, lookup, iteration, conversion, and comparison -- [`get<T>()`](get.md), [`get_string()`](get_string.md),
 [`number_token()`](number_token.md), and [`materialize()`](materialize.md) to build the `BasicJsonType` value of a
 subtree on demand. [`operator[]`](operator%5B%5D.md), [`at`](at.md), [`contains`](contains.md), and
-[`value`](value.md) also accept a [`json_pointer`](../json_pointer/index.md). It does not (yet) provide `dump()` or
-comparison.
+[`value`](value.md) also accept a [`json_pointer`](../json_pointer/index.md). [`operator==`](operator_eq.md) and
+[`operator!=`](operator_ne.md) compare two views, or a view and a `BasicJsonType` value, without ever building a
+`BasicJsonType` value for a view; no ordering comparison (`#!cpp operator<`) is provided.
 
 ## Template parameters
 
@@ -47,6 +48,7 @@ comparison.
 - **iterator**, **const_iterator** - a forward iterator over the elements of an array or the member values of an
   object, in document order; both names refer to the same type, since a view is always read-only
 - **item** - a (key, value) pair produced by [`items()`](items.md)
+- [**number_format**](number_format.md) - how [`dump()`](dump.md) writes numbers
 
 ## Member functions
 
@@ -106,6 +108,16 @@ comparison.
 - [**number_token**](number_token.md) - get a number's token text without a copy
 - [**materialize**](materialize.md) - build the `BasicJsonType` value of this subtree
 
+### Comparison
+
+- [**operator==**](operator_eq.md) - comparison: equal
+- [**operator!=**](operator_ne.md) - comparison: not equal
+
+### Serialization
+
+- [**dump**](dump.md) - serialize to a JSON-formatted string
+- [**operator<<**](operator_ltlt.md) - serialize to stream
+
 ### Source access
 
 - [**source_offset**](source_offset.md) - byte offset of this value in the document's source text

docs/mkdocs/docs/api/basic_json_view/number_format.md

@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+# <small>nlohmann::basic_json_view::</small>number_format
+
+```cpp
+enum class number_format {
+    shortest,
+    source
+};
+```
+
+This enumeration is used in [`dump`](dump.md) to choose how numbers are written. Two values are differentiated:
+
+shortest
+:   integers are copied from the source text -- already canonical in JSON -- except that `#!cpp -0` becomes
+    `#!cpp 0`, the way [`BasicJsonType::parse()`](../basic_json/parse.md) reads it; floats are written with the
+    library's shortest round-trip conversion, exactly as [`BasicJsonType::dump()`](../basic_json/dump.md) would (e.g.
+    `#!cpp 1.5`, `#!cpp 100.0`, `#!cpp 1e+100`)
+
+source
+:   every number is copied exactly as it appears in the source text -- `#!cpp 1.50`, `#!cpp 1E2`, `#!cpp -0`, all
+    digits of an integer literal with more digits than any number type holds -- something `BasicJsonType` cannot do,
+    since parsing already reduces every number to its parsed value
+
+## Examples
+
+??? example
+
+    The example below writes back a price list received from a supplier: with `number_format::shortest` (the
+    default), a trailing zero and scientific notation are normalized away and a long account number that overflows
+    every number type is rounded, the same way `#!cpp materialize().dump()` (or `basic_json::dump()`) would;
+    `number_format::source` keeps every number exactly as it was written in the source text instead.
+
+    ```cpp
+    --8<-- "examples/basic_json_view__number_format.cpp"
+    ```
+
+    Output:
+
+    ```json
+    --8<-- "examples/basic_json_view__number_format.output"
+    ```
+
+## See also
+
+- [dump](dump.md) - serialize to a JSON-formatted string
+- [number_token](number_token.md) - get a single number's token text without dumping the whole value
+- [`BasicJsonType::error_handler_t`](../basic_json/error_handler_t.md) - the analogous enumeration for
+  `BasicJsonType::dump`'s decoding-error behavior
+
+## Version history
+
+- Added in version 3.13.0.

docs/mkdocs/docs/api/basic_json_view/operator_eq.md

@@ -0,0 +1,107 @@
+# <small>nlohmann::basic_json_view::</small>operator==
+
+```cpp
+// (1)
+bool operator==(const basic_json_view& lhs, const basic_json_view& rhs);
+
+// (2)
+bool operator==(const basic_json_view& lhs, const BasicJsonType& rhs);
+bool operator==(const BasicJsonType& lhs, const basic_json_view& rhs);
+```
+
+1. Compares two views for equality: whether the values [`BasicJsonType::parse()`](../basic_json/parse.md) would
+   produce for `lhs` and `rhs` are equal, according to `BasicJsonType`'s [`operator==`](../basic_json/operator_eq.md).
+2. Compares a view and a `BasicJsonType` value for equality, in either order: whether the value `parse()` would
+   produce for the view and the other operand are equal, according to `BasicJsonType`'s
+   [`operator==`](../basic_json/operator_eq.md).
+
+Neither overload builds a `BasicJsonType` value for a view to do the comparison (see [Notes](#notes) below). Numbers
+compare by value across their types (`#!cpp 1 == 1.0`), and an object compares by its members, with duplicate keys
+resolved exactly as `parse()` resolves them -- the last value, at the position of the first occurrence of the key.
+
+## Parameters
+
+`lhs` (in)
+:   first value to consider
+
+`rhs` (in)
+:   second value to consider
+
+## Return value
+
+whether the values `lhs` and `rhs` are equal
+
+## Exception safety
+
+Strong exception safety: if an exception is thrown, there are no changes to either operand, or to the document(s) a
+view refers to.
+
+## Exceptions
+
+May throw `#!cpp std::bad_alloc`. Unlike the other comparison and most other `basic_json_view` functions,
+`operator==` is not `#!cpp noexcept`: resolving an object's members needs a temporary array to sort them by key (see
+[Complexity](#complexity) below), and that allocation can fail.
+
+## Complexity
+
+Linear in the size of the compared values: every number, string, array element, and object member is visited at most
+once, and the walk is iterative, so the nesting depth it can compare is limited by available memory only, not by the
+call stack (as for [`materialize()`](materialize.md)). Resolving an object's members takes an additional O(n log n)
+in the number of members at that level, since they are sorted by key to detect and resolve duplicates before being
+compared. Two arrays of different [`size()`](size.md) are rejected without visiting either one's elements.
+
+## Notes
+
+Only a single number, boolean, or `#!cpp null` value is ever materialized into a `BasicJsonType`, to reuse its
+`operator==` -- for numbers, so that values written differently in the source text but equal in value (e.g. an
+integer and a floating-point literal) still compare equal, following the same rules `BasicJsonType` does for special
+values such as `#!cpp NaN`. Constructing one of these scalars never allocates. Strings are compared directly, without
+allocating, either from the source text on both sides or, for overload 2, against `BasicJsonType`'s own string.
+Arrays and objects are never materialized at all; only their elements or members are visited, one pair at a time.
+
+!!! info "How objects are compared"
+
+    For a [`json_view`](../json_view.md) (`BasicJsonType::object_t` is `#!cpp std::map`), members are compared by
+    key, regardless of the order they appear in the source text. For an
+    [`ordered_json_view`](../ordered_json_view.md) (`object_t` is `ordered_map`), they are compared in the order
+    they occur, so the very same two objects with their members reordered can compare equal as `json_view`s but not
+    as `ordered_json_view`s. This is exactly how [`json`](../json.md) and [`ordered_json`](../ordered_json.md)
+    compare, see ["Comparing different `basic_json` specializations"](../basic_json/operator_eq.md#notes).
+
+!!! info "Discarded views"
+
+    A [discarded](is_discarded.md) view compares the same way a discarded `BasicJsonType` value does, which is
+    governed by
+    [`JSON_USE_LEGACY_DISCARDED_VALUE_COMPARISON`](../macros/json_use_legacy_discarded_value_comparison.md): by
+    default, a discarded view is never equal to anything, not even another discarded view.
+
+No ordering comparison (`#!cpp operator<`) is provided for `basic_json_view`; [`materialize()`](materialize.md) is
+the way to get a `BasicJsonType` value that supports it.
+
+## Examples
+
+??? example
+
+    The example below checks whether a newly received configuration differs from the previous one, and whether a
+    received document matches what a test expects -- directly on views, without ever materializing a `BasicJsonType`
+    value for either side.
+
+    ```cpp
+    --8<-- "examples/basic_json_view__operator_eq.cpp"
+    ```
+
+    Output:
+
+    ```json
+    --8<-- "examples/basic_json_view__operator_eq.output"
+    ```
+
+## See also
+
+- [operator!=](operator_ne.md) - compare for inequality
+- [materialize](materialize.md) - build a `BasicJsonType` value, e.g. to keep comparing after the document is gone
+- [`BasicJsonType::operator==`](../basic_json/operator_eq.md) - the corresponding function of `basic_json`
+
+## Version history
+
+- Added in version 3.13.0.

docs/mkdocs/docs/api/basic_json_view/operator_ltlt.md

@@ -0,0 +1,74 @@
+# <small>nlohmann::basic_json_view::</small>operator<<
+
+```cpp
+std::ostream& operator<<(std::ostream& o, const basic_json_view& v);
+```
+
+Not available when [`JSON_NO_IO`](../macros/json_no_io.md) is defined.
+
+Serializes the given view `v` to the output stream `o`, using [`dump`](dump.md) -- exactly as
+`#!cpp operator<<(std::ostream&, const basic_json&)` does for a `basic_json` value.
+
+- The indentation of the output can be controlled with the member variable `width` of the output stream `o`. For
+  instance, using the manipulator `std::setw(4)` on `o` sets the indentation level to `4`, and the serialization
+  result is the same as calling `#!cpp v.dump(4)`. A `width` of `0` or less (the default) selects the most compact
+  representation, as `#!cpp v.dump(-1)` does.
+- The indentation character can be controlled with the member variable `fill` of the output stream `o`. For instance,
+  the manipulator `std::setfill('\t')` sets indentation to use a tab character rather than the default space
+  character.
+- As for `basic_json`, `o`'s `width` is reset to `0` after this call, whether or not it was greater than `0` before.
+
+Numbers are always written as `#!cpp v.dump()` writes them by default, i.e. as with
+[`number_format::shortest`](number_format.md); there is no way to select `#!cpp number_format::source` through the
+stream.
+
+## Parameters
+
+`o` (in, out)
+:   stream to write to
+
+`v` (in)
+:   view to serialize
+
+## Return value
+
+the stream `o`
+
+## Exceptions
+
+May throw `#!cpp std::bad_alloc`, propagated from [`dump`](dump.md#exceptions). Unlike
+`#!cpp operator<<(std::ostream&, const basic_json&)`, there is no UTF-8 decoding step that could throw
+[`type_error.316`](../../home/exceptions.md#jsonexceptiontype_error316), and no `error_handler` to choose between --
+see the [Exceptions](dump.md#exceptions) of `dump`.
+
+## Complexity
+
+Linear, as [`dump`](dump.md#complexity).
+
+## Examples
+
+??? example
+
+    The example below writes one record out of a larger batch straight to a log stream -- compact for a one-line
+    entry, and pretty-printed with `std::setw`/`std::setfill` for a readable dump -- without ever building a
+    `BasicJsonType` value for the record, or for the rest of the batch.
+
+    ```cpp
+    --8<-- "examples/basic_json_view__operator_ltlt.cpp"
+    ```
+
+    Output:
+
+    ```json
+    --8<-- "examples/basic_json_view__operator_ltlt.output"
+    ```
+
+## See also
+
+- [dump](dump.md) - serialize to a JSON-formatted string
+- [`operator<<(std::ostream&)`](../operator_ltlt.md) - the corresponding operator for `basic_json`
+- [`JSON_NO_IO`](../macros/json_no_io.md) - switch off functions relying on certain C++ I/O headers
+
+## Version history
+
+- Added in version 3.13.0.

docs/mkdocs/docs/api/basic_json_view/operator_ne.md

@@ -0,0 +1,82 @@
+# <small>nlohmann::basic_json_view::</small>operator!=
+
+```cpp
+// (1)
+bool operator!=(const basic_json_view& lhs, const basic_json_view& rhs);
+
+// (2)
+bool operator!=(const basic_json_view& lhs, const BasicJsonType& rhs);
+bool operator!=(const BasicJsonType& lhs, const basic_json_view& rhs);
+```
+
+1. Compares two views for inequality. Returns `#!cpp !(lhs == rhs)`, see [operator==](operator_eq.md).
+2. Compares a view and a `BasicJsonType` value for inequality, in either order. Returns `#!cpp !(lhs == rhs)` (or,
+   for the reversed order, `#!cpp !(rhs == lhs)`), see [operator==](operator_eq.md).
+
+Since `operator!=` is defined as the negation of [`operator==`](operator_eq.md), it follows the same rules for
+special cases: for instance, since a [discarded](is_discarded.md) view is never equal to anything by default (see
+[operator=='s Notes](operator_eq.md#notes)), it is never *unequal* to anything either -- `#!cpp discarded != discarded`
+is also `#!cpp false`, exactly as for a discarded `BasicJsonType` value.
+
+## Parameters
+
+`lhs` (in)
+:   first value to consider
+
+`rhs` (in)
+:   second value to consider
+
+## Return value
+
+whether the values `lhs` and `rhs` are not equal
+
+## Exception safety
+
+Strong exception safety: if an exception is thrown, there are no changes to either operand, or to the document(s) a
+view refers to.
+
+## Exceptions
+
+May throw `#!cpp std::bad_alloc`, propagated from [`operator==`](operator_eq.md#exceptions). Unlike most other
+`basic_json_view` functions, `operator!=` is not `#!cpp noexcept`.
+
+## Complexity
+
+Linear, as [`operator==`](operator_eq.md#complexity).
+
+## Notes
+
+See the [Notes](operator_eq.md#notes) of `operator==` -- in particular for how an object's members are compared
+(order matters for [`ordered_json_view`](../ordered_json_view.md) but not for [`json_view`](../json_view.md)) and
+for how discarded views compare.
+
+No ordering comparison (`#!cpp operator<`) is provided for `basic_json_view`; [`materialize()`](materialize.md) is
+the way to get a `BasicJsonType` value that supports it.
+
+## Examples
+
+??? example
+
+    The example below asserts, as a test would, that a received document differs from an unwanted value, and shows
+    that -- as for [`json`](../json.md)/[`ordered_json`](../ordered_json.md) -- reordering an object's members is
+    detected as a difference for an `ordered_json_view` but not for a `json_view`.
+
+    ```cpp
+    --8<-- "examples/basic_json_view__operator_ne.cpp"
+    ```
+
+    Output:
+
+    ```json
+    --8<-- "examples/basic_json_view__operator_ne.output"
+    ```
+
+## See also
+
+- [operator==](operator_eq.md) - compare for equality
+- [materialize](materialize.md) - build a `BasicJsonType` value, e.g. to keep comparing after the document is gone
+- [`BasicJsonType::operator!=`](../basic_json/operator_ne.md) - the corresponding function of `basic_json`
+
+## Version history
+
+- Added in version 3.13.0.

docs/mkdocs/docs/api/operator_ltlt.md

@@ -86,6 +86,8 @@ Linear.
 ## See also
 
 - [dump](basic_json/dump.md) - serialize to a JSON-formatted string
+- [`basic_json_view::operator<<`](basic_json_view/operator_ltlt.md) - the corresponding operator for
+  `basic_json_view`
 - [Serialization](../features/serialization.md) - the serialization article
 
 ## Version history

docs/mkdocs/docs/examples/basic_json_view__dump.cpp

@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+#include <iostream>
+#include <nlohmann/json_view.hpp>
+
+using json_document = nlohmann::json_document;
+using json_view = nlohmann::json_view;
+
+int main()
+{
+    // a large batch of sensor readings -- forward just the one that changed,
+    // without ever building a basic_json value for the batch or for the
+    // readings that are not needed
+    const json_document batch = json_document::parse(R"(
+      [{"id": 1, "temp": 21.5}, {"id": 2, "temp": 87.3}, {"id": 3, "temp": 21.7}]
+    )");
+    const json_view readings = batch.root();
+    std::cout << readings[1].dump() << '\n';
+
+    // a configuration file -- dump() on the view keeps the member order of
+    // the source text; a json value's object_t is std::map, so
+    // materialize().dump() of the very same view sorts the keys instead
+    const json_document config = json_document::parse(
+                                     R"({"name": "cache", "host": "db1", "port": 6379, "timeout": 30})");
+    std::cout << config.root().dump(2) << "\n\n";
+    std::cout << config.root().materialize().dump(2) << '\n';
+}

docs/mkdocs/docs/examples/basic_json_view__dump.output

@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+{"id":2,"temp":87.3}
+{
+  "name": "cache",
+  "host": "db1",
+  "port": 6379,
+  "timeout": 30
+}
+
+{
+  "host": "db1",
+  "name": "cache",
+  "port": 6379,
+  "timeout": 30
+}

docs/mkdocs/docs/examples/basic_json_view__number_format.cpp

@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+#include <iostream>
+#include <nlohmann/json_view.hpp>
+
+using json_document = nlohmann::json_document;
+using json_view = nlohmann::json_view;
+
+int main()
+{
+    // a price list received from a supplier feed -- prices and account
+    // numbers must be forwarded exactly, e.g. into an invoice
+    const json_document doc = json_document::parse(R"(
+      [{"sku": "A1", "price": 19.90, "account_id": 12345678901234567890123456},
+       {"sku": "A2", "price": 1E2, "account_id": 98765432109876543210987654}]
+    )");
+    const json_view list = doc.root();
+
+    // number_format::shortest (the default) writes numbers the way
+    // basic_json::dump() would: "19.90" becomes "19.9", "1E2" becomes
+    // "100.0", and each account number -- far beyond any 64-bit integer --
+    // is rounded to the nearest double, exactly as materialize().dump()
+    // (or a plain nlohmann::json) would round it
+    std::cout << list.dump() << '\n';
+
+    // number_format::source copies every number exactly as it was written
+    // in the source text instead -- something basic_json cannot do at all,
+    // since parsing already reduces every number to its parsed value
+    std::cout << list.dump(-1, ' ', false, json_view::number_format::source) << '\n';
+}

docs/mkdocs/docs/examples/basic_json_view__number_format.output

@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+[{"sku":"A1","price":19.9,"account_id":1.2345678901234568e+25},{"sku":"A2","price":100.0,"account_id":9.876543210987655e+25}]
+[{"sku":"A1","price":19.90,"account_id":12345678901234567890123456},{"sku":"A2","price":1E2,"account_id":98765432109876543210987654}]

docs/mkdocs/docs/examples/basic_json_view__operator_eq.cpp

@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+#include <iostream>
+#include <nlohmann/json_view.hpp>
+
+using json_document = nlohmann::json_document;
+using json = nlohmann::json;
+
+int main()
+{
+    // two snapshots of a polled configuration endpoint -- compare them
+    // directly as views, without ever building a nlohmann::json value for
+    // either one
+    const json_document previous = json_document::parse(
+                                       R"({"name": "cache", "port": 6379, "timeout": 30})");
+    const json_document current = json_document::parse(
+                                      R"({"port": 6379.0, "timeout": 30, "name": "cache"})");
+
+    // same members, reordered, and 6379 written as a float -- operator==
+    // treats them the same way BasicJsonType::operator== would
+    std::cout << std::boolalpha << (previous.root() == current.root()) << '\n';
+
+    // an actually changed value is detected the same way
+    const json_document changed = json_document::parse(
+                                      R"({"name": "cache", "port": 6380, "timeout": 30})");
+    std::cout << (previous.root() == changed.root()) << '\n';
+
+    // comparing a view directly against an expected json value -- handy in a
+    // test, without materializing the received document at all
+    const json expected = {{"name", "cache"}, {"port", 6379}, {"timeout", 30}};
+    std::cout << (previous.root() == expected) << '\n';
+}

docs/mkdocs/docs/examples/basic_json_view__operator_eq.output

@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+true
+false
+true

docs/mkdocs/docs/examples/basic_json_view__operator_ltlt.cpp

@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+#include <iostream>
+#include <iomanip>
+#include <nlohmann/json_view.hpp>
+
+using json_document = nlohmann::json_document;
+using json_view = nlohmann::json_view;
+
+int main()
+{
+    // one order out of a large incoming batch -- write it straight to a log
+    // stream without ever building a basic_json value for it, or for the
+    // rest of the batch
+    const json_document doc = json_document::parse(R"(
+      [{"id": 1, "item": "cable"}, {"id": 2, "item": "adapter"}]
+    )");
+    const json_view orders = doc.root();
+
+    // compact, for a one-line log entry
+    std::cout << orders[1] << '\n';
+
+    // std::setw sets the indentation level, exactly as for basic_json
+    std::cout << std::setw(2) << orders[1] << "\n\n";
+
+    // std::setfill changes the indentation character
+    std::cout << std::setw(1) << std::setfill('\t') << orders[1] << '\n';
+}

docs/mkdocs/docs/examples/basic_json_view__operator_ltlt.output

@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+{"id":2,"item":"adapter"}
+{
+  "id": 2,
+  "item": "adapter"
+}
+
+{
+	"id": 2,
+	"item": "adapter"
+}

docs/mkdocs/docs/examples/basic_json_view__operator_ne.cpp

@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+#include <iostream>
+#include <nlohmann/json_view.hpp>
+
+using json_document = nlohmann::json_document;
+using ordered_json_document = nlohmann::ordered_json_document;
+using json = nlohmann::json;
+
+int main()
+{
+    // assert, as a test would, that a received document differs from an
+    // unwanted shape -- without ever materializing it into a json value just
+    // to compare
+    const json_document received = json_document::parse(
+                                       R"({"status": "ok", "code": 200})");
+    const json unwanted = {{"status", "error"}, {"code", 500}};
+    std::cout << std::boolalpha << (received.root() != unwanted) << '\n';
+
+    // json (std::map) compares object members regardless of order ...
+    const json_document a = json_document::parse(R"({"a": 1, "b": 2})");
+    const json_document b = json_document::parse(R"({"b": 2, "a": 1})");
+    std::cout << (a.root() != b.root()) << '\n';
+
+    // ... but ordered_json (ordered_map) compares them in the order they
+    // appear, so the very same reordering is detected as a difference
+    const ordered_json_document oa = ordered_json_document::parse(R"({"a": 1, "b": 2})");
+    const ordered_json_document ob = ordered_json_document::parse(R"({"b": 2, "a": 1})");
+    std::cout << (oa.root() != ob.root()) << '\n';
+}

docs/mkdocs/docs/examples/basic_json_view__operator_ne.output

@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+true
+false
+true

docs/mkdocs/docs/features/json_view.md

@@ -139,8 +139,12 @@ whenever any of the other conditions above was not met.
   element access and lookup functions never carry the JSON Pointer path `JSON_DIAGNOSTICS` would otherwise add: the
   view has no `basic_json` value to point at, so the exception is created without one, regardless of how
   `BasicJsonType` was built.
-- **`dump()` and comparison are not (yet) provided** by `basic_json_view`. For now,
-  [`materialize()`](../api/basic_json_view/materialize.md) is the way to get a value you can do those things with.
+- **Ordering comparisons are not provided** by `basic_json_view` -- there is no `#!cpp operator<`.
+  [`operator==`](../api/basic_json_view/operator_eq.md) and [`operator!=`](../api/basic_json_view/operator_ne.md) are
+  provided, though: two views, or a view and a `BasicJsonType` value, compare equal exactly when
+  [`materialize()`](../api/basic_json_view/materialize.md) or [`parse()`](../api/basic_json/parse.md) would produce
+  equal values for them, without ever building a tree to do it. For ordering, too,
+  [`materialize()`](../api/basic_json_view/materialize.md) is the way to get a value you can compare.
 
 ## Getting values out without copying
 
@@ -166,6 +170,23 @@ Two conversions never copy at all:
 
 Both results are only valid as long as the view -- and, for a string with no escapes, the borrowed source text -- is.
 
+## Writing a view back
+
+[`dump()`](../api/basic_json_view/dump.md) serializes a view directly from the flat index, without ever building a
+`basic_json` value. An object's members are written in document order, not sorted by key, and *every* occurrence of a
+repeated key is written, not only the last one -- the same two ways [iteration](#what-is-different) already differs
+from a [`materialize()`](../api/basic_json_view/materialize.md)d value, see above. `#!cpp materialize().dump()` gives
+a different result in both respects for a `json_view`.
+
+By default, numbers are written the way [`basic_json::dump()`](../api/basic_json/dump.md) would.
+[`number_format::source`](../api/basic_json_view/number_format.md) instead copies every number exactly as it was
+written in the source text -- a price like `#!cpp 19.90`, a long order or account ID with more digits than any number
+type holds, or a high-precision coordinate -- something `basic_json` cannot do at all, since parsing already reduces
+a number to its parsed `#!cpp double`/`#!cpp int64_t` value.
+
+[`operator<<`](../api/basic_json_view/operator_ltlt.md) writes a view to a stream the way `basic_json`'s does, using
+the stream's `width`/`fill` for indentation.
+
 ## Choosing between `json`, `ordered_json`, the SAX interface, and `json_view`
 
 | | [`json`](../api/json.md) / [`ordered_json`](../api/ordered_json.md) | [SAX interface](parsing/sax_interface.md) | [`json_document`](../api/json_document.md) / [`json_view`](../api/json_view.md) |

docs/mkdocs/mkdocs.yml

@@ -257,6 +257,7 @@ nav:
           - 'cend': api/basic_json_view/cend.md
           - 'contains': api/basic_json_view/contains.md
           - 'count': api/basic_json_view/count.md
+          - 'dump': api/basic_json_view/dump.md
           - 'empty': api/basic_json_view/empty.md
           - 'end': api/basic_json_view/end.md
           - 'find': api/basic_json_view/find.md
@@ -279,9 +280,13 @@ nav:
           - 'is_structured': api/basic_json_view/is_structured.md
           - 'items': api/basic_json_view/items.md
           - 'materialize': api/basic_json_view/materialize.md
+          - 'number_format': api/basic_json_view/number_format.md
           - 'number_token': api/basic_json_view/number_token.md
           - 'operator bool': api/basic_json_view/operator_bool.md
+          - 'operator<<': api/basic_json_view/operator_ltlt.md
           - 'operator[]': api/basic_json_view/operator[].md
+          - 'operator==': api/basic_json_view/operator_eq.md
+          - 'operator!=': api/basic_json_view/operator_ne.md
           - 'size': api/basic_json_view/size.md
           - 'source_offset': api/basic_json_view/source_offset.md
           - 'type': api/basic_json_view/type.md