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json/docs/mkdocs/docs/api/basic_json/push_back.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

4.2 KiB

nlohmann::basic_json::push_back

// (1)
void push_back(basic_json&& val);
void push_back(const basic_json& val);

// (2)
void push_back(const typename object_t::value_type& val);

// (3)
void push_back(initializer_list_t init);
  1. Appends the given element val to the end of the JSON array. If the function is called on a JSON null value, an empty array is created before appending val.

  2. Inserts the given element val to the JSON object. If the function is called on a JSON null value, an empty object is created before inserting val.

  3. This function allows using push_back with an initializer list. In case

    1. the current value is an object,
    2. the initializer list init contains only two elements, and
    3. the first element of init is a string,

    init is converted into an object element and added using push_back(const typename object_t::value_type&). Otherwise, init is converted to a JSON value and added using push_back(basic_json&&).

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.

For ordered_json, also adding an element to an object can yield a reallocation which again invalidates all iterators and all references.

Parameters

val (in)
the value to add to the JSON array/object
init (in)
an initializer list

Exception safety

Strong guarantee: if an exception is thrown, there are no changes to any JSON value. As an exception, a #!json null value is converted to an empty array or object before the element is added and keeps that type if adding the element throws.

Exceptions

  1. Throws type_error.308 when called on a type other than JSON array or null; example: "cannot use push_back() with number"
  2. Throws type_error.308 when called on a type other than JSON object or null; example: "cannot use push_back() with number"
  3. Throws type_error.308 when called on a type other than JSON array or null; example: "cannot use push_back() with number"

Complexity

  1. Amortized constant.
  2. Logarithmic in the size of the container, O(log(size())).
  3. Linear in the size of the initializer list init.

Notes

(3) This function is required to resolve an ambiguous overload error, because pairs like {"key", "value"} can be both interpreted as object_t::value_type or std::initializer_list<basic_json>, see #235 for more information.

Examples

??? example "Example: (1) add element to array"

The example shows how `push_back()` and `+=` can be used to add elements to a JSON array. Note how the `null` value
was silently converted to a JSON array.

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

Output:

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

??? example "Example: (2) add element to object"

The example shows how `push_back()` and `+=` can be used to add elements to a JSON object. Note how the `null` value
was silently converted to a JSON object.

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

Output:

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

??? example "Example: (3) add to object from initializer list"

The example shows how initializer lists are treated as objects when possible.

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

Output:

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

See also

Version history

  1. Since version 1.0.0.
  2. Since version 1.0.0.
  3. Since version 2.0.0.