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Kazoo JSON#

Manipulating JSON objects in Erlang.

Accessors#

Getters#

The kz_json module provides a generic accessor, get_value(Path, JObj[, Default]) that will return the value at Path ('undefined' or Default if missing).

There are also a number of accessors that will make sure the value retrieved is of a certain type; otherwise the Default is used. Functions like get_ne_binary_value will make sure the Value is a non-empty binary, for instance.

Another accessor is get_first_defined(Paths, JObj[, Default]) which takes a list of paths to search, returning the first non-'undefined' value found iterating through Paths; otherwise 'undefined' or Default is returned.

  • get_keys(JObj): returns the top-level keys of the JObj.
  • get_values(JObj): will return a tuple {Values, Keys} from the object (similar to lists:unzip/2).
  • values(JObj): returns just the top-level Values of the object.
  • new(): returns an empty JSON object.

Setters#

  • set_value(Path, Value, JObj) will put Value at Path (including creating nested objects as necessary).
  • set_values([{Path, Value}], JObj) will put Values at Paths (including creating nested objects as necessary).
  • insert_value(Path, Value, JObj) will only put Value at Path if there isn't a value there already.
  • insert_values([{Path, Value}], JObj) will only put Value at Path if there isn't a value there already.

Deleting keys#

  • delete_key(Path, JObj[, 'prune' | 'no_prune']): will delete the value at Path from the JObj. You can optionally prune the resulting empty object ('no_prune' is the default).
  • delete_keys(Paths, JObj): will delete Paths using 'no_prune'. Use prune_keys(Paths, JObj) if you want empty objects pruned.

Note that set_value(Path, 'null', JObj) is equivalent to delete_key(Path, JObj).

Predicates#

Several predicates exist that will return booleans.

  • is_true(Path, JObj[, Default]): returns if the value at Path is "true" in some form (atom, list, binary). is_false exists as well for "false".
  • is_defined(Path, JObj): Returns if the value at Path is not 'undefined'.
  • is_empty(JObj): returns true if JObj is the empty JSON object ({[]} currently but could be #{} if the switch to maps is made).
  • is_json_object(JObj), are_json_objects(JObjs): Superficial check for the internal JSON structure. Use is_valid_json_object(JObj) to recurse into the data structure.
  • is_json_term(Term): returns if the Term is a JSON-able term. Terms like pid(), reference(), and such have no parallel in JSON and are thus considered to not be JSON terms.
  • are_equal(JObj1, JObj2): compares two objects for equality, irrespective of how the underlying ordering of keys.

Converters#

Away from JSON objects#

  • to_proplist(JObj): Returns the top-level object as a proplist instead (nested objects remain objects).
  • to_map(JObj): Returns a map representation of the object
  • recursive_to_proplist(JObj): Converts nested objects to proplists as well

To JSON objects#

  • from_list(Proplist): Top-level change from proplist to object
  • from_map(Map): Converts map back to JSON object data structure
  • from_list_recursive(Proplist): Equivalent to from_list_recursive/2 with default option: #{ascii_list_enforced => 'true', invalid_as_null => 'true'}
  • from_list_recursive(Proplist, #{}=Options): Converts nested proplists to objects as well. Options are:
    • ascii_list_enforced: If the value of a proplist item is list and all of the elements are ASCII characters, convert the value to binary. This also converts empty list [] to binary. If you are sure that you don't have any string value, but expect and empty list as value, set this option to false to not convert the empty list to binary
    • invalid_as_null: If the value of a proplist item is not any of list(), binary(), atom(), integer(), float(), kz_time:date(), kz_time:datetime(), kz_json:object() or kz_term:proplist() then set the value to null, otherwise throw {'error', kz_term:ne_binary()}

Merging Objects#

You can merge two (or more) objects together and specify which objects' value will be used when there are conflicting keys.

  • merge([JObj1, JObj2,...]): Defaults to using the merge_right strategy where the object on the "right" will have its value used when both objects have a value at a give key path.
  • merge(Strategy, JObjs): Choose a strategy, either fun kz_json:merge_right/2 or fun kz_json:merge_left/2 (or define your own), and apply it to the list of objects.

Both merge_left/2 and merge_right/2 will keep the left or right empty objects (respectively) when they exist at a given key path if the other value is also an object (empty or not). To override this behavior and always recursively merge the values when both are objects, specify 'recursive' => 'true' in the Options map passed in merge(JObjs, Options), merge(JObj1, JObj2, Options), merge(Strategy, JObjs, Options), or merge(JObj1, JObj2, Options), as arg 4 to merge/4, or as arg 5 to merge/5.

Handling null#

Sometimes it is beneficial to include the null atom as a value (for downstream processing perhaps) versus triggering a delete_key equivalent.

set_value and merge can take an optional map #{'keep_null' => 'true'} to ensure null is kept in the resulting data structure.

List-like operations#

JSON objects are iterable and kz_json has equivalents to the lists module for filter/{2,3}, filtermap/2, map/2, fold{l,r}/3, foreach/2, all/2, and any/2 among others.

Another of note is find(Path, JObjs[, Default]) which searchs a list of JSON objects for a key path. There is also a find_first_defind(Paths, JObjs[, Default]) which will find(Path, JObjs), continuing to the next Path if 'undefined' is returned.

There is also a find_value(Path, Value, JObjs[, Default]) which will find the first JObj in the list that has Value at Path.

Lifting common JSON properties#

Basic usage#

kz_json:lift_common_properties([JObj1, JObj2]) ->
    {CommonJObj, [UniqueJObj1, UniqueJObj2]}.

All key/value pairs common to each JObj in the list will be collected into CommonJObj and removed from each JObj.

Blacklists#

Sometimes you know there are keys that shouldn't be lifted (like leg-only variables on endpoints vs channel variables):

kz_json:lift_common_properties([JObj1, JObj2,...], [Key1, Path2]) ->
    {CommonJObj, [UniqueJObj1, UniqueJObj2,...]}.

This will not allow Key1 and Path2 to be in CommonJObj and will remain in the objects that have it set. Note that the blacklist can be keys (<<"key">>) or paths ([<<"key">>, <<"subkey">>]).