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>

include/nlohmann/detail/abi_macros.hpp

@@ -46,6 +46,10 @@
     #define JSON_STRICT_NUL_HANDLING 0
 #endif
 
+#ifndef JSON_USE_OBJECTS_FOR_ENUM_KEYED_MAPS
+    #define JSON_USE_OBJECTS_FOR_ENUM_KEYED_MAPS 0
+#endif
+
 #if JSON_DIAGNOSTICS
     #define NLOHMANN_JSON_ABI_TAG_DIAGNOSTICS _diag
 #else
@@ -82,14 +86,20 @@
     #define NLOHMANN_JSON_ABI_TAG_STRICT_NUL_HANDLING
 #endif
 
+#if JSON_USE_OBJECTS_FOR_ENUM_KEYED_MAPS
+    #define NLOHMANN_JSON_ABI_TAG_OBJECTS_FOR_ENUM_KEYED_MAPS _ekmo
+#else
+    #define NLOHMANN_JSON_ABI_TAG_OBJECTS_FOR_ENUM_KEYED_MAPS
+#endif
+
 #ifndef NLOHMANN_JSON_NAMESPACE_NO_VERSION
     #define NLOHMANN_JSON_NAMESPACE_NO_VERSION 0
 #endif
 
 // Construct the namespace ABI tags component
-#define NLOHMANN_JSON_ABI_TAGS_CONCAT_EX(a, b, c, d, e, f) json_abi ## a ## b ## c ## d ## e ## f
-#define NLOHMANN_JSON_ABI_TAGS_CONCAT(a, b, c, d, e, f) \
-    NLOHMANN_JSON_ABI_TAGS_CONCAT_EX(a, b, c, d, e, f)
+#define NLOHMANN_JSON_ABI_TAGS_CONCAT_EX(a, b, c, d, e, f, g) json_abi ## a ## b ## c ## d ## e ## f ## g
+#define NLOHMANN_JSON_ABI_TAGS_CONCAT(a, b, c, d, e, f, g) \
+    NLOHMANN_JSON_ABI_TAGS_CONCAT_EX(a, b, c, d, e, f, g)
 
 #define NLOHMANN_JSON_ABI_TAGS                                       \
     NLOHMANN_JSON_ABI_TAGS_CONCAT(                                   \
@@ -98,7 +108,8 @@
             NLOHMANN_JSON_ABI_TAG_DIAGNOSTIC_POSITIONS,              \
             NLOHMANN_JSON_ABI_TAG_BRACE_INIT_COPY_SEMANTICS,         \
             NLOHMANN_JSON_ABI_TAG_PRECISE_STREAM_POSITION,           \
-            NLOHMANN_JSON_ABI_TAG_STRICT_NUL_HANDLING)
+            NLOHMANN_JSON_ABI_TAG_STRICT_NUL_HANDLING,               \
+            NLOHMANN_JSON_ABI_TAG_OBJECTS_FOR_ENUM_KEYED_MAPS)
 
 // Construct the namespace version component
 #define NLOHMANN_JSON_NAMESPACE_VERSION_CONCAT_EX(major, minor, patch) \

include/nlohmann/detail/conversions/from_json.hpp

@@ -550,11 +550,40 @@ auto from_json(BasicJsonType&& j, TupleRelated&& t)
     return from_json_tuple_impl(std::forward<BasicJsonType>(j), std::forward<TupleRelated>(t), priority_tag<3> {});
 }
 
+// read a map with enum keys from an object, using the enum's own from_json for
+// the keys (e.g., from NLOHMANN_JSON_SERIALIZE_ENUM); this is the form written
+// with JSON_USE_OBJECTS_FOR_ENUM_KEYED_MAPS
+template<typename BasicJsonType, typename Map>
+inline bool from_json_enum_keyed_object(const BasicJsonType& j, Map& m, std::true_type /*key is enum*/)
+{
+    if (!j.is_object())
+    {
+        return false;
+    }
+    m.clear();
+    for (const auto& p : *j.template get_ptr<const typename BasicJsonType::object_t*>())
+    {
+        m.emplace(BasicJsonType(p.first).template get<typename Map::key_type>(), p.second.template get<typename Map::mapped_type>());
+    }
+    return true;
+}
+
+template<typename BasicJsonType, typename Map>
+inline bool from_json_enum_keyed_object(const BasicJsonType& /*j*/, Map& /*m*/, std::false_type /*key is enum*/)
+{
+    return false;
+}
+
 template < typename BasicJsonType, typename Key, typename Value, typename Compare, typename Allocator,
            typename = enable_if_t < !std::is_constructible <
                                         typename BasicJsonType::string_t, Key >::value >>
 inline void from_json(const BasicJsonType& j, std::map<Key, Value, Compare, Allocator>& m)
 {
+    // NOLINTNEXTLINE(modernize-type-traits) we use C++11
+    if (from_json_enum_keyed_object(j, m, std::is_enum<Key> {}))
+    {
+        return;
+    }
     if (JSON_HEDLEY_UNLIKELY(!j.is_array()))
     {
         JSON_THROW(type_error::create(302, concat("type must be array, but is ", j.type_name()), &j));
@@ -575,6 +604,11 @@ template < typename BasicJsonType, typename Key, typename Value, typename Hash,
                                         typename BasicJsonType::string_t, Key >::value >>
 inline void from_json(const BasicJsonType& j, std::unordered_map<Key, Value, Hash, KeyEqual, Allocator>& m)
 {
+    // NOLINTNEXTLINE(modernize-type-traits) we use C++11
+    if (from_json_enum_keyed_object(j, m, std::is_enum<Key> {}))
+    {
+        return;
+    }
     if (JSON_HEDLEY_UNLIKELY(!j.is_array()))
     {
         JSON_THROW(type_error::create(302, concat("type must be array, but is ", j.type_name()), &j));

include/nlohmann/detail/conversions/to_json.hpp

@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@
 #include <valarray> // valarray
 #include <vector> // vector
 
+#include <nlohmann/detail/exceptions.hpp>
 #include <nlohmann/detail/iterators/iteration_proxy.hpp>
 #include <nlohmann/detail/meta/cpp_future.hpp>
 #include <nlohmann/detail/meta/std_fs.hpp>
@@ -381,6 +382,9 @@ template < typename BasicJsonType, typename CompatibleArrayType,
                          !is_basic_json<CompatibleArrayType>::value
 #if JSON_HAS_RANGES && !defined(__MINGW32__)
     && !is_compatible_range_view<CompatibleArrayType>::value
+#endif
+#if JSON_USE_OBJECTS_FOR_ENUM_KEYED_MAPS
+    && !is_enum_keyed_map<CompatibleArrayType>::value
 #endif
                          ,
                          int > = 0 >
@@ -435,6 +439,33 @@ inline void to_json(BasicJsonType& j, const CompatibleObjectType& obj)
     external_constructor<value_t::object>::construct(j, obj);
 }
 
+#if JSON_USE_OBJECTS_FOR_ENUM_KEYED_MAPS
+// store a map with enum keys as an object, using the enum's own to_json for the
+// keys (e.g., from NLOHMANN_JSON_SERIALIZE_ENUM); without the macro, such maps
+// are stored as arrays of [key, value] pairs
+template < typename BasicJsonType, typename EnumKeyedMap,
+           enable_if_t < is_enum_keyed_map<EnumKeyedMap>::value&& !is_basic_json<EnumKeyedMap>::value, int > = 0 >
+inline void to_json(BasicJsonType& j, const EnumKeyedMap& map)
+{
+    typename BasicJsonType::object_t obj;
+    for (const auto& p : map)
+    {
+        BasicJsonType key = p.first;
+        if (JSON_HEDLEY_UNLIKELY(!key.is_string()))
+        {
+            JSON_THROW(type_error::create(302, concat("type must be string, but is ", key.type_name()), &key));
+        }
+
+        auto& key_string = *key.template get_ptr<typename BasicJsonType::string_t*>();
+        if (JSON_HEDLEY_UNLIKELY(!obj.emplace(key_string, BasicJsonType(p.second)).second))
+        {
+            JSON_THROW(type_error::create(318, concat("duplicate object key '", key_string, "'"), &key));
+        }
+    }
+    external_constructor<value_t::object>::construct(j, std::move(obj));
+}
+#endif
+
 template<typename BasicJsonType>
 inline void to_json(BasicJsonType& j, typename BasicJsonType::object_t&& obj)
 {

include/nlohmann/detail/macro_unscope.hpp

@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@
     #undef JSON_BRACE_INIT_COPY_SEMANTICS
     #undef JSON_PRECISE_STREAM_POSITION
     #undef JSON_STRICT_NUL_HANDLING
+    #undef JSON_USE_OBJECTS_FOR_ENUM_KEYED_MAPS
 #endif
 
 #include <nlohmann/thirdparty/hedley/hedley_undef.hpp>

include/nlohmann/detail/meta/type_traits.hpp

@@ -400,6 +400,20 @@ template<typename BasicJsonType, typename CompatibleObjectType>
 struct is_compatible_object_type
     : is_compatible_object_type_impl<BasicJsonType, CompatibleObjectType> {};
 
+// a map-like type (std::map, std::unordered_map, ...) whose keys are enums; see
+// JSON_USE_OBJECTS_FOR_ENUM_KEYED_MAPS
+template<typename T, typename = void>
+struct is_enum_keyed_map : std::false_type {};
+
+template<typename T>
+struct is_enum_keyed_map <
+    T, enable_if_t < is_detected<mapped_type_t, T>::value&&
+    is_detected<key_type_t, T>::value >>
+{
+    // NOLINTNEXTLINE(modernize-type-traits) we use C++11
+    static constexpr bool value = std::is_enum<typename T::key_type>::value;
+};
+
 template<typename BasicJsonType, typename ConstructibleObjectType,
          typename = void>
 struct is_constructible_object_type_impl : std::false_type {};