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json/docs/mkdocs/docs/api/basic_json_view/get.md
T
Niels Lohmann 0adb7783a4 Add element access, iteration, values, and JSON pointers to json_view
Give basic_json_view the read-only access functions of basic_json:
operator[] and at() with keys and indices, front()/back(), find(),
contains(), count(), begin()/end() and cbegin()/cend(), items()
with structured bindings from C++17 on, and type_name().

Exceptions have the ids and messages of the const functions of
basic_json. Where basic_json has undefined behavior the view
answers safely: operator[] with a missing key or an out-of-range
index returns a discarded view, and front()/back() of an empty
container throw invalid_iterator.214. Objects are iterated in
document order, and all members are visited; duplicate-key lookups
find the first member (as yyjson and simdjson do), while parse(),
materialize(), and the map conversions keep the last value, as
parse() does. Keys of up to 16 bytes are compared with two
overlapping loads.

Add value conversions: get<T>()/get_to() for arithmetic types,
bool, nullptr_t, strings (std::basic_string copied,
string_view_t without a copy), BasicJsonType, views, std::vector,
and maps with string keys; get_string() for the string without a
copy; number_token() for the number exactly as written in the
source; value() with keys and JSON pointers; and operator[]/at()/
contains() with JSON pointers. Everything else, including types
with from_json(), goes through materialize() of that subtree.
get<T>() of arithmetic types is inlined down to the conversion, so
reading an integer needs no call.

detail::json_pointer_access exposes a pointer's reference tokens
to code outside basic_json.

Signed-off-by: Niels Lohmann <mail@nlohmann.me>
2026-10-06 10:48:06 +02:00

6.5 KiB

nlohmann::basic_json_view::get

template<typename T>
T get() const;

Converts the value to T.

For the types below, the conversion works directly on the flat index -- no BasicJsonType value is built for it:

  • #!cpp bool
  • arithmetic types other than #!cpp bool (from a number; from a boolean, as #!cpp 0/#!cpp 1, exactly as BasicJsonType::get<T>() converts a boolean)
  • #!cpp std::nullptr_t
  • #!cpp std::basic_string<char, Traits, Alloc> (including string_t) -- a copy of the string
  • string_view_t -- no copy: the returned view points into the document's source() text, or, for a string that contains escape sequences, into the document's own buffer of decoded strings (see get_string())
  • BasicJsonType -- equivalent to materialize()
  • basic_json_view -- returns #!cpp *this
  • #!cpp std::vector<U, A> -- element by element, each converted with #!cpp get<U>(); #!cpp std::vector<basic_json_view> keeps a view of every element instead of a value
  • #!cpp std::map<K, V, C, A> and #!cpp std::unordered_map<K, V, H, E, A>, if K is constructible from a #!cpp (const char*, std::size_t) pair -- member by member, each value converted with #!cpp get<V>(); with a repeated key, the last value is kept, as BasicJsonType::parse() (and materialize()) does; #!cpp std::map<std::string, basic_json_view> keeps views of the members instead of values

Every other T -- #!cpp std::list, #!cpp std::pair, #!cpp std::array, enumerations, user types with a from_json(), ... -- is converted by #!cpp materialize().get<T>(): the subtree is built into a real BasicJsonType value first (as BasicJsonType::parse() would), and converted from there exactly as BasicJsonType::get<T>() would convert it.

Template parameters

T
the type to convert the value to

Return value

the value, converted to T

Exception safety

Strong exception safety: if an exception is thrown, there are no changes to the view or the document it refers to.

Exceptions

  • For the directly-converted types listed above (other than BasicJsonType and basic_json_view, which never throw): throws type_error.302 if the value's type does not match T -- the same exception, with the same message, that BasicJsonType::get<T>() throws for the same JSON type and T.
  • For #!cpp std::vector<U, A>: throws type_error.302 if the value is not an array; otherwise, whatever converting an element to U throws.
  • For #!cpp std::map/#!cpp std::unordered_map: throws type_error.302 if the value is not an object; otherwise, whatever converting a member to the mapped type throws.
  • For every other T: whatever materialize().get<T>() throws -- typically type_error.302, or whatever a user-provided from_json() throws.

None of the exceptions thrown directly by this function (the first three bullets above) carry a JSON_DIAGNOSTICS path: the view has no BasicJsonType value to point at. An exception thrown while converting through materialize() (the last bullet) is different: it is thrown by a real BasicJsonType value, so it does carry a JSON_DIAGNOSTICS path if BasicJsonType was built with it enabled.

Complexity

  • #!cpp bool, arithmetic types, #!cpp std::nullptr_t, string_view_t, basic_json_view: constant.
  • #!cpp std::basic_string<char, Traits, Alloc>: constant, plus one allocation and a copy of the string's bytes.
  • BasicJsonType: linear in the size of the subtree, see materialize().
  • #!cpp std::vector<U, A>: linear in the number of elements, times the complexity of converting one element to U.
  • #!cpp std::map/#!cpp std::unordered_map: linear in the number of members for walking them, plus the container's own insertion cost per member (logarithmic for #!cpp std::map, amortized constant for #!cpp std::unordered_map), times the complexity of converting one member to the mapped type.
  • every other T: linear in the size of the subtree (building the BasicJsonType value), plus the complexity of BasicJsonType::get<T>() on it.

Notes

!!! info "Floating-point values"

A floating-point `T` is converted from the same digits the lexer would see during `#!cpp BasicJsonType::parse()`,
using the same conversion, so the result is bit-for-bit identical to `#!cpp BasicJsonType::parse(text).get<T>()`
for the same source text.

!!! info "Duplicate keys"

`#!cpp std::map`/`#!cpp std::unordered_map` conversions keep the *last* value of a repeated key, like
[`materialize()`](materialize.md) and [`BasicJsonType::parse()`](../basic_json/parse.md) do. This is the opposite
of [`operator[]`](operator[].md)/[`at`](at.md)/[`find`](find.md)/[`contains`](contains.md), which resolve to the
*first* occurrence (see the [Notes on duplicate keys](operator[].md#notes)).

!!! info "No pointers, references, or implicit conversion"

Unlike `BasicJsonType`, `basic_json_view` has no stored value anywhere to hand out a pointer or a reference to, so
it provides neither `#!cpp get_ptr()`, `#!cpp get_ref()`, nor `#!cpp operator ValueType()`.
[`get_string()`](get_string.md) (equivalently, `#!cpp get<string_view_t>()`) is the zero-copy alternative for
strings.

Examples

??? example

The example below reads typed fields straight into C++ variables, collects a view of every array element with
`#!cpp get<std::vector<basic_json_view>>()` instead of a value, and converts a nested object into a user type
through its `from_json()` -- which runs on a `BasicJsonType` value `materialize()` builds for just that one
member.

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

Output:

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

See also

Version history

  • Added in version 3.13.0.