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json/docs/mkdocs/docs/api/basic_json/insert.md
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Niels Lohmann 63c10a51fc Review and extend the documentation, and check it in CI (#5638)
* Review and extend the documentation, and check it in CI

A review of all documentation pages found factual errors, dead links,
missing cross-references, and gaps in examples. This fixes them and adds
checks so the same problems are caught automatically.

Fixes:
- wrong signatures and version histories (operator!= C++20 member,
  binary() subtype type, get<PointerType>(), JSON_NO_THREAD_LOCAL, ...)
- stale descriptions (number parsing since #5283, UBJSON table, SAX
  example that no longer compiled, tsl::ordered_map advice)
- dead internal and external links; repology.org badges (the domain is
  suspended) replaced by badges that query the registries directly
- deprecation notes link the migration guide; the guide itself fixed

Additions:
- "See also" sections, cross-references, 25 runnable examples, 12
  Mermaid diagrams, new API pages for json_pointer::operator<=> and
  byte_container_with_subtype::operator==/!=
- landing page, guides for untrusted input and performance
- "unreleased" badge after versions newer than the latest release

Checks:
- strict documentation build (broken links/anchors fail it); CI and
  the publish workflow fetch the full history the build needs
- weekly external link check, Mermaid syntax check in CI
- check_structure.py: example titles, heading levels, alt texts,
  header links, docset index coverage; its unused-example check works
  again
- all examples produce the same output on every platform

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

* Keep the customer links that could not be fixed

A dead link on the customers page is still the evidence of where the
use of the library was documented. Keep the original URLs of the entries
without a working replacement (Marne, Cisco Webex Desk Camera, Philips
Hue, CyberArk) and exclude exactly these URLs from the link check.

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

* Correct the duplicate-key recipe's claim about SAX positions

The SAX interface's key() receives no position either; only parse_error()
does. Also note that the recipe does not report the path to the repeated
key (see discussion #5085).

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

* Say the library is available as a single header and mention json_fwd.hpp

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

* Correct documentation errors found while hunting for bugs

- patch/patch_inplace: list the JSON pointer errors parse_error.106-109
  and out_of_range.402/404, and quote the actual parse_error.105 message.
- unflatten: list parse_error.106/107/108 and out_of_range.404.
- to_bson: list out_of_range.415 (binary subtype above 255) and note
  that 412 and 415 are new in 3.13.0.
- to_string: state that string_t must be convertible to std::string, also
  in the StringType requirements table.
- JSON Lines: a `while (input >> j)` loop also throws after the last value
  for concatenated JSON values; show a loop that works for both.
- BON8: a string gets 0xFF only if nothing follows it in the message; a
  string at the end of an array or object is ended by 0xFE.
- custom_string_type.hpp: add operator+=(char), which the "Always
  required" list asks for (json_pointer::to_string, flatten, unflatten,
  and diff did not compile), and an ADL int_to_string for diff and items.

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

* Cache the release headers with functools.lru_cache

Codacy (Pylint) flagged the mutable default argument that header() used
as its cache. functools.lru_cache keeps the same memoization without it.
The script's output is unchanged.

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

---------

Signed-off-by: Niels Lohmann <mail@nlohmann.me>
2026-10-02 11:32:15 +02:00

7.7 KiB

nlohmann::basic_json::insert

// (1)
iterator insert(const_iterator pos, const basic_json& val);
iterator insert(const_iterator pos, basic_json&& val);

// (2)
iterator insert(const_iterator pos, size_type cnt, const basic_json& val);

// (3)
iterator insert(const_iterator pos, const_iterator first, const_iterator last);

// (4)
iterator insert(const_iterator pos, initializer_list_t ilist);

// (5)
void insert(const_iterator first, const_iterator last);
  1. Inserts element val into an array before iterator pos.
  2. Inserts cnt copies of val into an array before iterator pos.
  3. Inserts elements from range [first, last) into an array before iterator pos.
  4. Inserts elements from initializer list ilist into an array before iterator pos.
  5. Inserts elements from range [first, last) into an object.

Iterator invalidation

For all cases where an element is added to an array, a reallocation can happen, in which case all iterators (including the end() iterator) and all references to the elements are invalidated. Otherwise, only the end() iterator is invalidated. Also, any iterator or reference after the insertion point will point to the same index, which is now a different value.

For ordered_json, also adding an element to an object can yield a reallocation which again invalidates all iterators and all references. Also, any iterator or reference after the insertion point will point to the same index, which is now a different value.

Parameters

pos (in)
iterator before which the content will be inserted; may be the end() iterator
val (in)
value to insert
cnt (in)
number of copies of val to insert
first (in)
the start of the range of elements to insert
last (in)
the end of the range of elements to insert
ilist (in)
initializer list to insert the values from

Return value

  1. iterator pointing to the inserted val.
  2. iterator pointing to the first element inserted, or pos if #!cpp cnt==0
  3. iterator pointing to the first element inserted, or pos if #!cpp first==last
  4. iterator pointing to the first element inserted, or pos if ilist is empty
  5. (none)

Exception safety

Strong exception safety: if an exception occurs, the original value stays intact.

Exceptions

  1. The function can throw the following exceptions:
    • Throws type_error.309 if called on JSON values other than arrays; example: "cannot use insert() with string"
    • Throws invalid_iterator.202 if called on an iterator which does not belong to the current JSON value; example: "iterator does not fit current value"
  2. The function can throw the following exceptions:
    • Throws type_error.309 if called on JSON values other than arrays; example: "cannot use insert() with string"
    • Throws invalid_iterator.202 if called on an iterator which does not belong to the current JSON value; example: "iterator does not fit current value"
  3. The function can throw the following exceptions:
    • Throws type_error.309 if called on JSON values other than arrays; example: "cannot use insert() with string"
    • Throws invalid_iterator.202 if called on an iterator which does not belong to the current JSON value; example: "iterator does not fit current value"
    • Throws invalid_iterator.210 if first and last do not belong to the same JSON value; example: "iterators do not fit"
    • Throws invalid_iterator.211 if first or last are iterators into container for which insert is called; example: "passed iterators may not belong to container"
    • Throws invalid_iterator.202 if first or last do not point to an array; example: "iterators first and last must point to arrays"
  4. The function can throw the following exceptions:
    • Throws type_error.309 if called on JSON values other than arrays; example: "cannot use insert() with string"
    • Throws invalid_iterator.202 if called on an iterator which does not belong to the current JSON value; example: "iterator does not fit current value"
  5. The function can throw the following exceptions:
    • Throws type_error.309 if called on JSON values other than objects; example: "cannot use insert() with string"
    • Throws invalid_iterator.202 if first or last do not point to an object; example: "iterators first and last must point to objects"
    • Throws invalid_iterator.210 if first and last do not belong to the same JSON value; example: "iterators do not fit"

Complexity

  1. Constant plus linear in the distance between pos and end of the container.
  2. Linear in cnt plus linear in the distance between pos and end of the container.
  3. Linear in #!cpp std::distance(first, last) plus linear in the distance between pos and end of the container.
  4. Linear in ilist.size() plus linear in the distance between pos and end of the container.
  5. O(N*log(size() + N)), where N is the number of elements to insert.

Examples

??? example "Example: (1) insert element into array"

The example shows how `insert()` is used.

```cpp
--8<-- "examples/insert.cpp"
```

Output:

```json
--8<-- "examples/insert.output"
```

??? example "Example: (2) insert copies of element into array"

The example shows how `insert()` is used.

```cpp
--8<-- "examples/insert__count.cpp"
```

Output:

```json
--8<-- "examples/insert__count.output"
```

??? example "Example: (3) insert a range of elements into an array"

The example shows how `insert()` is used.

```cpp
--8<-- "examples/insert__range.cpp"
```

Output:

```json
--8<-- "examples/insert__range.output"
```

??? example "Example: (4) insert elements from an initializer list into an array"

The example shows how `insert()` is used.

```cpp
--8<-- "examples/insert__ilist.cpp"
```

Output:

```json
--8<-- "examples/insert__ilist.output"
```

??? example "Example: (5) insert a range of elements into an object"

The example shows how `insert()` is used.

```cpp
--8<-- "examples/insert__range_object.cpp"
```

Output:

```json
--8<-- "examples/insert__range_object.output"
```

See also

Version history

  1. Added in version 1.0.0.
  2. Added in version 1.0.0.
  3. Added in version 1.0.0.
  4. Added in version 1.0.0. Fixed in version 3.13.0 to copy the values before inserting; before, an ilist that referred to elements of the array being inserted into could insert wrong values, because the range insert could move from or shift an element before it was copied.
  5. Added in version 3.0.0.