Cannot parse jsonobject----"A JSONObject text must begin with '{' at character 1 of "

Question

String json = "{'name': 'Tom','array':[{'a':'111','b':'222','c':'333'},{},{'a':'999'}],'address':'York'}";

try {
    JSONObject jsonObject = JSONObject.fromObject(json);
    String name = jsonObject.getString("name");
    String address = jsonObject.getString("address");
    System.out.println("name is:" + name);
    System.out.println("address is:" + address);
    JSONArray jsonArray = jsonObject.getJSONArray("array");
    for (int i = 0; i < jsonArray.size(); i++) {
        System.out.println("item " + i + " :" + jsonArray.getString(i));
    }
} catch (JSONException e) {
    e.printStackTrace();
}

Eveything is OK. But when I put {'name': 'Tom','array':[{'a':'111','b':'222','c':'333'},{},{'a':'999'}],'address':'York'} into a file.

        File file = new File(fileName);  
        BufferedReader reader = null;           
        try {  
            reader = new BufferedReader(new FileReader(file));  
            String tempString = null;  
            while ((tempString = reader.readLine()) != null){                   
                JSONObject jo = JSONObject.fromObject(tempString.trim());
                String id = jo.getString("id");
                String name = jo.getString("name");
                log.info(id + ":" + name);
            }  
            reader.close();  
        } catch (IOException e) {  
            e.printStackTrace();  
        }

It tells me Exception in thread "main" net.sf.json.JSONException: A JSONObject text must begin with '{' at character 1 of "{'name': 'Tom','array':[{'a':'111','b':'222','c':'333'},{},{'a':'999'}],'address':'York'}. What's the problem in this code? Can any figure it out for me? Thanks.

my file:

{'name': 'Tom','array':[{'a':'111','b':'222','c':'333'},{},{'a':'999'}],'address':'York'}

don't suppose there's an empty line in the file or something like that? Maybe you just need to trim the string: JSONObject.fromObject(tempString.trim()) — kmp
– kmp, Commented Jul 24, 2014 at 6:42
no empty line there. I did not write the whole error sentence, and i've modified it.trim() does not work. — Ron
– Ron, Commented Jul 24, 2014 at 6:47
Perform a hex dump of the file. Check there isn't a BOM - e.g. the file might start with the bytes EF BB BF. It may not matter in this case but you should use a Charset to specify an encoding to your Reader. — McDowell
– McDowell, Commented Jul 24, 2014 at 7:20
where is this id parameter in your JSON. You are trying jo.getString("id") ? — Yagnesh Agola
– Yagnesh Agola, Commented Jul 24, 2014 at 7:31

McDowell · Accepted Answer · 2014-07-24 12:18:11Z

2

From the comment:

I use

InputStreamReader isr = new InputStreamReader(new FileInputStream(fileName), "UTF-8");
reader = new BufferedReader(isr);
String tempString = null;
while ((tempString = reader.readLine()) != null){

, and my file starts with EE BB BF, I've checked.

The issue is that the file starts with a BOM. The JSON decoder expects the file to begin with a character that can start a JSON type but it's getting U+FEFF.

It would be best if the JSON file did not start with a BOM.

If you must handle this case then you can do it with the buffer:

BufferedReader buf = new BufferedReader(isr);
// remove BOM
buf.mark(1);
if(buf.read() != '\uFEFF') {
  buf.reset();
}
// continue...

edited Jul 24, 2014 at 12:18

answered Jul 24, 2014 at 9:09

McDowell

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1 Comment

Ron Over a year ago

buf.mark.error --- The method mark(int) in the type BufferedReader is not applicable for the arguments (). I try buf.mark(0); it works. Thanks you very much!!!

Luke Grab-Bag English · Accepted Answer · 2014-07-24 06:51:45Z

0

If you look at the string returned in the error, " {'name': 'Tom','array':[{'a':'111','b':'222','c':'333'},{},{'a':'999'}],'address':'York'}", you'll see that in character 1 there is actually a space. What happens if you try removing this space from your file?

answered Jul 24, 2014 at 6:51

Luke Grab-Bag English

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1 Comment

Ron Over a year ago

Actually there is no space there. Sorry it's my mistake.

das Keks · Accepted Answer · 2014-07-24 08:55:12Z

0

You have to replace your single quotes ' with double quotes ".

{
    "name": "Tom",
    "array": [
        {
            "a": "111",
            "b": "222",
            "c": "333"
        },
        {

        },
        {
            "a": "999"
        }
    ],
    "address": "York"
}

As defined in the JSON specification http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc4627.txt

The representation of strings is similar to conventions used in the C family of programming languages. A string begins and ends with quotation marks.

And quotation mark means "

edited Jul 24, 2014 at 8:55

answered Jul 24, 2014 at 8:48

das Keks

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1 Comment

das Keks Over a year ago

@Ron They are not the same for json. You can test it here jsonlint.com Test it with single and double quotes. Single quotes will not be valid.

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