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json/docs/mkdocs/docs/api/basic_json_document/parse.md
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Niels Lohmann 4303ba674d Add json_document and json_view: node index, parser, and document
Add json_document and json_view, a read-only, zero-copy index of a
JSON text, as the first public slice of the zero-copy view (#5295).

A parse produces a flat array of 16-byte nodes in document order,
one per value and one per object key. Strings stay in the source
text; escaped strings are decoded into an arena. Integers are
converted while their digits are in the cache; floats keep only
their digit layout and are converted on read. Containers store the
size of their subtree, so a reader can step over one in constant
time. A document makes a handful of allocations, however many
values it has.

The parser accepts exactly what json::parse accepts, with every
combination of ignore_comments and ignore_trailing_commas, with and
without a trailing NUL, and under JSON_STRICT_NUL_HANDLING. It is
portable C++11 and does not depend on byte order.

basic_json_document adds parse, parse_copy, accept, read (reuses a
document's memory), root, is_discarded, source, owns_source,
node_count, memory_usage, and shrink_to_fit. basic_json_view adds
type, the is_* queries, operator bool, size, empty, materialize,
and source_offset. A parse error throws the same exception
basic_json::parse would throw for the same input, message and
position included.

detail::abi_config keeps JSON_STRICT_NUL_HANDLING and
JSON_USE_LEGACY_DISCARDED_VALUE_COMPARISON readable after json.hpp
undefines them, in the ABI namespace so they always match the
basic_json in use.

A NUL byte that ends a // comment is the end of the input, as in
parse() since #5696.

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

6.0 KiB

nlohmann::basic_json_document::parse

// (1)
template<typename InputType>
static basic_json_document parse(InputType&& input,
                                 const bool allow_exceptions = true,
                                 const bool ignore_comments = false,
                                 const bool ignore_trailing_commas = false);

// (2)
template<typename IteratorType>
static basic_json_document parse(IteratorType first, IteratorType last,
                                 const bool allow_exceptions = true,
                                 const bool ignore_comments = false,
                                 const bool ignore_trailing_commas = false);
  1. Deserialize from a compatible input, borrowing or owning it depending on its value category and type (see Notes).
  2. Deserialize from a pair of input iterators.

Both overloads accept exactly what BasicJsonType::parse() accepts, with the same ignore_comments/ignore_trailing_commas options, but build a basic_json_document (a flat index into the input) instead of a tree of BasicJsonType values.

Template parameters

InputType
A compatible input, for instance:
  • a #!cpp std::string, #!cpp std::string_view, or a C-style array of characters
  • a pointer to a null-terminated string of single byte characters
  • a container for which #!cpp obj.data() and #!cpp obj.size() give contiguous single-byte access, e.g. #!cpp std::vector<char> or #!cpp std::vector<std::uint8_t>
  • an #!cpp std::istream object, or anything else BasicJsonType::parse() accepts
IteratorType
a compatible iterator type, for instance a pair of pointers such as ptr and ptr + len, or a pair of #!cpp std::string::iterator

Parameters

input (in)
Input to parse from.
allow_exceptions (in)
whether to throw exceptions in case of a parse error (optional, #!cpp true by default)
ignore_comments (in)
whether comments should be ignored and treated like whitespace (#!cpp true) or yield a parse error (#!cpp false); (optional, #!cpp false by default)
ignore_trailing_commas (in)
whether trailing commas in arrays or objects should be ignored and treated like whitespace (#!cpp true) or yield a parse error (#!cpp false); (optional, #!cpp false by default)
first (in)
iterator to the start of a character range
last (in)
iterator to the end of a character range

Return value

The parsed document. If allow_exceptions is #!cpp false and the input is not valid JSON, the returned document is discarded; see is_discarded.

Exceptions

Throws the same exception BasicJsonType::parse() throws for the same input and options -- the same exception id, message, and position -- because on a failing input the library's own parser is run on the same bytes to produce the diagnostic. Additionally throws out_of_range.416 if the input is 4 GiB or larger, a size BasicJsonType::parse() does not reject.

Complexity

Linear in the length of the input.

Notes

Ownership. Whether the document borrows input or owns a copy of it depends on its value category and type:

input ownership
lvalue byte container (std::string, std::vector<char>, ...), std::string_view, C string, character array borrowed -- input must outlive the document
rvalue #!cpp std::string owned, moved in without a copy
rvalue byte container other than #!cpp std::string owned, copied
stream, wide string, or anything else read through the general input adapter owned, read into a buffer (a stream is read to its end)

For overload (2), a pair of pointers to single-byte integers (e.g. #!cpp const char*, #!cpp std::uint8_t*) is borrowed. From C++20 on, so is any other contiguous iterator over single bytes, such as #!cpp std::vector<char>::iterator or #!cpp std::string::const_iterator. Before C++20 these iterators cannot be told apart from other class-type iterators, so their range is read into an owned buffer, as is any non-contiguous range (e.g. of a #!cpp std::list<char>).

See owns_source to check which happened after a call, and the feature page for the reasoning.

Numbers. As for BasicJsonType::parse(), an integer literal too large for the 64-bit integer type becomes a floating-point value.

Examples

??? example "Example: (1) borrowed vs. owned input, and errors identical to BasicJsonType::parse()"

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

Output:

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

??? example "Example: (2) parse an iterator range (no NUL terminator required)"

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

Output:

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

See also

  • parse_copy - deserialize a copy of a compatible input
  • accept - check whether the input is valid JSON
  • read - (re-)parse into this document, reusing its memory
  • owns_source - return whether the document holds its own copy of the text
  • BasicJsonType::parse - the corresponding function of basic_json

Version history

  • Added in version 3.13.0.