Is JSON.stringify() supported by IE 8?

Question

I need to use:

JSON.stringify()

which should be supported by Chrome, Safari, and Firefox. I think IE8 also has support for the JSON object. I think IE7 and 6 do not, so I'm doing this:

<!--[if lt IE 8]>
    <script src="http://www.json.org/json2.js"></script>
<![endif]-->

so, I think this will import the external JavaScript only if IE6 & 7. I looked at the URL where the script is hosted, they are including only if the IE version is less than 9:

http://code.google.com/p/html5shiv/
<!--[if lt IE 9]>
    <script src="http://www.json.org/json2.js"></script>
<![endif]-->

so should I be including this for IE 8 too?

json.org/json2.js, as it's promised in the source code, is a big fat 404. You may want to use this cdn if you can't host json2.js yourself: cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/json2/20110223/json2.js — tjp
– tjp, Commented Jul 5, 2012 at 16:30
For those in need, the source-file is now located here:raw.githubusercontent.com/douglascrockford/JSON-js/master/… — hussfelt
– hussfelt, Commented Nov 14, 2014 at 12:33

Lee Whitney III · Accepted Answer · 2013-07-26 14:20:23Z

66

To answer the question in the title directly, yes IE8 supports JSON.stringify() natively.

IE8 is the first version of IE to get this support, and the functionality is explained in detail by the dev team here: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ie/archive/2008/09/10/native-json-in-ie8.aspx

The answer the second part of the question, yes you would need to include alternate functionality for IE6/IE7. Something like Modernizr can make it easy to check this.

Also note if the user is in Compatibility View in IE8, the JSON object will not be available.

edited Jul 26, 2013 at 14:20

answered Aug 25, 2011 at 15:32

Lee Whitney III

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3 Comments

nickk_can Over a year ago

this is the correct answer, but more generally I would recommend looking at YepNopeJS or Modernizr to do the check for conditionally loading json library.

Dave Over a year ago

Also note if the user is in Compatibility View, the JSON object will not be available.

Lee Whitney III Over a year ago

Thanks @nickk_can and Dave, I've updated based on your comments.

Community · Accepted Answer · 2017-05-23 11:55:03Z

32

If you try JSON.stringify() using IE 8 you need to ensure it is not working in compatibility mode. See JSON object undefined in Internet Explorer 8

You'll need to add

<meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=8" />

to your page

edited May 23, 2017 at 11:55

CommunityBot

11 silver badge

answered Jun 7, 2012 at 22:15

ggc

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Comments

Artem Koshelev · Accepted Answer · 2017-05-08 20:04:58Z

16

There's a better solution...

This doesn't directly answer your question, it provides a complete solution to your problem instead.

The jquery-json library provides a wrapper that uses the native JSON object implementation if it's available and falls back to it's own JSON implementation if it isn't. Meaning it'll work in any browser.

Here's the Usage Example from the Project's home page:

var thing = {plugin: 'jquery-json', version: 2.3};

var encoded = $.toJSON( thing );
// '{"plugin":"jquery-json","version":2.3}'
var name = $.evalJSON( encoded ).plugin;
// "jquery-json"
var version = $.evalJSON(encoded).version;
// 2.3

The usage is very simple: toJSON stringifies the JS source; evalJSON converts JSON string data back to JavaScript objects.

Of you look at the source, the implementation is surprisingly simple but it works very well. I have used it personally in a few projects.

There's no need to do browser detection if it works in every browser.

edited May 8, 2017 at 20:04

Artem Koshelev

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answered Oct 16, 2012 at 2:34

Evan Plaice

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5 Comments

Evan Plaice Over a year ago

I'm not sure what the downvote was for. This is nothing but a JS polyfill for JSON support that falls back to JSON.stringify if the browser supports it.

codeandcloud Over a year ago

i withdraw my comment. i was mentioning that we already have a library.

Evan Plaice Over a year ago

Yes, I didn't realize that before adding my answer. TIL, I guess.

Kosmetika Over a year ago

please stop advising jquery plugins

Half Blood Prince Over a year ago

There is not any $.toJSON method.

atom217 · Accepted Answer · 2014-02-27 13:09:49Z

11

put following code in your js file ;

var JSON = JSON || {};

// implement JSON.stringify serialization
JSON.stringify = JSON.stringify || function (obj) {

var t = typeof (obj);
if (t != "object" || obj === null) {

    // simple data type
    if (t == "string") obj = '"'+obj+'"';
    return String(obj);

}
else {

    // recurse array or object
    var n, v, json = [], arr = (obj && obj.constructor == Array);

    for (n in obj) {
        v = obj[n]; t = typeof(v);

        if (t == "string") v = '"'+v+'"';
        else if (t == "object" && v !== null) v = JSON.stringify(v);

        json.push((arr ? "" : '"' + n + '":') + String(v));
    }

    return (arr ? "[" : "{") + String(json) + (arr ? "]" : "}");
}
};

// implement JSON.parse de-serialization
JSON.parse = JSON.parse || function (str) {
if (str === "") str = '""';
eval("var p=" + str + ";");
return p;
 };

answered Feb 27, 2014 at 13:09

atom217

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1 Comment

S.Serpooshan Over a year ago

Such a light weight library! I like it

saluce · Accepted Answer · 2014-03-25 14:10:16Z

9

You don't need to use conditionals to determine whether to include json2.js or not. Take a look at the source code:

var JSON;
if (!JSON) {
    JSON = {};
}

if (typeof JSON.stringify !== 'function') {
    JSON.stringify = function (value, replacer, space) {
        // Code
    }
}

if (typeof JSON.parse !== 'function') {
    JSON.parse = function (text, reviver) {
        // Code
    }
}

What this does is first check to see if JSON already exists as an object. If not, then it creates a new object to house the JSON functions. Then, it checks for a native implementation of .stringify() or .parse() exist. If not, then it creates those functions.

Bottom line: if a native implementation exists, including json2.js will not overwrite the native implementation. Otherwise, it'll add that functionality, so there's no reason you need to use conditionals, unless you are trying to minimize requests.

_{(It might also be noted that IE10 does not support conditional statements, so I'd recommend against relying on them unless there isn't any alternative.)}

edited Mar 25, 2014 at 14:10

answered Aug 15, 2012 at 19:08

saluce

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4 Comments

gtd Over a year ago

Of course you might not want the extra request in cases where this is not rolled up with some sort of asset packaging.

Clodoaldo Neto Over a year ago

If IE10 does not support conditional statements won't it see those lines posted by the OP as just a comment? What am I missing?

saluce Over a year ago

@ClodoaldoNeto Yes, that's true. But, generally people have been relying on conditional statements to account for variances in Internet Explorer's implementation of standards. IE10 and above no longer support conditionals, so that comment was related to the OP's use of conditionals. My answer is that, json2.js, conditionals are not required since it will not overwrite native methods, with the caveat that developers need to start getting away from conditionals for Internet Explorer for future versions.

Evan Plaice Over a year ago

+1 Good answer. Would you mind adding a link to json2.js in your answer for those of us who haven't previously encountered it?

meder omuraliev · Accepted Answer · 2010-07-24 21:04:08Z

3

A shiv just createElement's the HTML5 elements. It has nothing to do with JSON. Try getting an actual JSON parser like json2.js from Crockford.

answered Jul 24, 2010 at 21:04

meder omuraliev

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2 Comments

James Black Over a year ago

I agree that the json parser is the best bet.

user246114 Over a year ago

Ok is the above use correct then - I pointed to the correct js file I think - but is it necessary for IE8? Or does it need to be included only for IE6 and IE7? Thanks

Jacob Jeske · Accepted Answer · 2016-01-08 16:00:15Z

Just to follow up Mozilla has made a polyfill for the JSON object if you need it to work in IE compatibility mode.

https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/JSON

if (!window.JSON) {
  window.JSON = {
    parse: function(sJSON) { return eval('(' + sJSON + ')'); },
    stringify: (function () {
      var toString = Object.prototype.toString;
      var isArray = Array.isArray || function (a) { return toString.call(a) === '[object Array]'; };
      var escMap = {'"': '\\"', '\\': '\\\\', '\b': '\\b', '\f': '\\f', '\n': '\\n', '\r': '\\r', '\t': '\\t'};
      var escFunc = function (m) { return escMap[m] || '\\u' + (m.charCodeAt(0) + 0x10000).toString(16).substr(1); };
      var escRE = /[\\"\u0000-\u001F\u2028\u2029]/g;
      return function stringify(value) {
        if (value == null) {
          return 'null';
        } else if (typeof value === 'number') {
          return isFinite(value) ? value.toString() : 'null';
        } else if (typeof value === 'boolean') {
          return value.toString();
        } else if (typeof value === 'object') {
          if (typeof value.toJSON === 'function') {
            return stringify(value.toJSON());
          } else if (isArray(value)) {
            var res = '[';
            for (var i = 0; i < value.length; i++)
              res += (i ? ', ' : '') + stringify(value[i]);
            return res + ']';
          } else if (toString.call(value) === '[object Object]') {
            var tmp = [];
            for (var k in value) {
            if (value.hasOwnProperty(k))
                tmp.push(stringify(k) + ': ' + stringify(value[k]));
            }
             return '{' + tmp.join(', ') + '}';
          }
        }
        return '"' + value.toString().replace(escRE, escFunc) + '"';
      };
    })()
  };
}

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