How can I reference an anonymous json array?

Question

I have a large JSON object which is being returned from QuickBooks Online API. It is valid JSON and shows up on the console (after logging it).

Upon inspecting the console, I see the following:

[Object, Object, Object, Object, Object, Object, Object, Object, Object, Object, Object, Object, Object, Object, Object, Object, Object, Object, Object, Object, Object, Object, Object, Object, Object]

Which can be expanded to:

[Object, Object, Object, Object, Object, Object, Object, Object, Object, Object, Object, Object, Object, Object, Object, Object, Object, Object, Object, Object, Object, Object, Object, Object, Object]
0: Object
1: Object
2: Object
3: Object
4: Object
5: Object
6: Object
7: Object
8: Object
9: Object
10: Object
11: Object
12: Object
13: Object
14: Object
15: Object
16: Object
17: Object
18: Object
19: Object
20: Object
21: Object
22: Object
23: Object
24: Object
length: 25
__proto__: Array[0]

0: Object expands to:

0: Object
*_data: Object
$$hashKey: "object:82"
__proto__: Object

*_data: Object expands to:

Active: Array[1]
Balance: Array[1]
BalanceWithJobs: Array[1]
BillAddr: Array[1]
BillWithParent: Array[1]
DisplayName: Array[1]
FamilyName: Array[1]
Fax: Array[1]
FullyQualifiedName: Array[1]
GivenName: Array[1]
Id: Array[1]
Job: Array[1]
MetaData: Array[1]
Mobile: Array[1]
PreferredDeliveryMethod: Array[1]
PrimaryEmailAddr: Array[1]
PrimaryPhone: Array[1]
PrintOnCheckName: Array[1]
SalesTermRef: Array[1]
SyncToken: Array[1]
Taxable: Array[1]

I'm trying to access a property called DisplayName.

The Angular code that is being used to console.log the json data:

$http.get('/customer').success(function(customers) {
    $scope.customers = customers;
    console.log($scope.customers[0]["*_data"].DisplayName[0]);
});

How can this be done? Can something be typed in the console to return its value?

Update:

I can access the object using:

console.log($scope.customers[0]);

However, *_data is an object. I was thinking something like:

console.log($scope.customers[0].*_data); would work however, I receive the error:

Uncaught SyntaxError: Unexpected token *.

Can you do it with bracket notation? like <thisjson>[0]["*_data"]["DisplayName"]; ? — brbcoding
– brbcoding, Commented Dec 8, 2014 at 16:38
@brbcoding, I receive this error when trying: Uncaught SyntaxError: Unexpected token < And without the brackets, thisjson is not defined. — Raphael Rafatpanah
– Raphael Rafatpanah, Commented Dec 8, 2014 at 16:40
brbcoding didn't mean for <thisjson> to be used literally, just as a placeholder for whatever variable you store the json in. — chazsolo
– chazsolo, Commented Dec 8, 2014 at 16:47
Ahh. console.log($scope.customers[0]); returns an object in the console. How can I access an object? console.log($scope.customers[0]["*_data"]); returns undefined. — Raphael Rafatpanah
– Raphael Rafatpanah, Commented Dec 8, 2014 at 16:58

Drew Noakes · Accepted Answer · 2014-12-08 17:17:35Z

5

Are you logging it to the console?

Assuming you are, and that you have something like:

console.log(data);

You can access the data like this:

data[0]["*_data"].DisplayName[0]

That is:

Dereference the first array item with data[0]
Then access the *_data property. Because its name is not a valid property name, you have to use the ["string"] form.
The DisplayName value is an array. Take the first value with [0].

EDIT

Ok, wow this was actually quite an interesting one!

It seems that the response data contains a strange character which makes it tricky to access the response. Specifically:

> Object.keys($scope.customers[0])[0]
"*_data"
> Object.keys($scope.customers[0])[0] == "*_data"
false

Huh? Why aren't they equal? One of those characters must be a unicode char which looks identical but has a different value!

Anyway it's easy enough to work around this:

var mysteriousKey = Object.keys($scope.customers[0])[0];
var data = $scope.customers[0][mysteriousKey];

This gives me:

Object {Id: Array[1], SyncToken: Array[1], MetaData: Array[1], GivenName: Array[1], FamilyName: Array[1]…}

Which I think it what you were after.

edited Dec 8, 2014 at 17:17

answered Dec 8, 2014 at 16:39

Drew Noakes

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9 Comments

Raphael Rafatpanah Over a year ago

When trying, I receive Uncaught ReferenceError: data is not defined. It is being logged to the console.

Drew Noakes Over a year ago

Who logs it to the console? Is it your code that's making this request of the QuickBooks API?

Raphael Rafatpanah Over a year ago

Yes. I have an angular $http.get() request to my backend, which returns the json data. I immediately logged that data to the console. I also tried doing something this: console.log($scope.customers[0]["*_data"].DisplayName[0]); however, the console returns this error: TypeError: Cannot read property 'DisplayName' of undefined

Drew Noakes Over a year ago

Then you're getting close. I suggest you set a breakpoint there and inspect the data you're getting back. There's no way I can really help you from here. Perhaps the property name is _data instead of *_data?

Raphael Rafatpanah Over a year ago

Thank you. I do receive the right object when running console.log($scope.customers[0]); which returns Object {*_data: Object}*_data: Object__proto__: Object Perhaps the problem is because "*_data" is an object and not an array?

|

Scott Offen · Accepted Answer · 2014-12-08 16:41:50Z

1

Your array should be assigned to a variable. Reference the index of the item in the array you want, and access it's DisplayName property (which is also an array).

var objArray; // this has your array of objects
objArray[0]["*_data"].DisplayName[0]; // should be the value you are looking for.

answered Dec 8, 2014 at 16:41

Scott Offen

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3 Comments

Raphael Rafatpanah Over a year ago

What if *_data is an object? How can it be referenced?

War10ck Over a year ago

@RaphaelRafatpanah *_data even as an object would be referenced this way. It's referred to as square bracket notation as oppose to dot notation. Because this property has an *, you'll want to use the square bracket notation. However, if you property was for example _data you could do objArray[0]._data or objArray[0]["_data"]. Both produce the same result. For special characters like the asterisk though, it's better to use square bracket notation to avoid parser errors.

Raphael Rafatpanah Over a year ago

Thank you for your help and explanation. The reason it wasn't working was because of the * looked like an asterix but actually had a different value internally. See the chosen answer for details. Thanks again.

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