Non Json Format to JSON format

Question

I have a string which is 'almost' a json string, only that its keys are not surrounded by quotes. Normally it is used by the UI and javascript which does not have a problem in interpreting it. However it seems the JSON parsers in Java that i know of require key to be surrounded by quotes.

Is there a way i can convert the string to a valid json string, probably by using a regular expression in Java. Or is there a JSON lib which is a bit lenient.

The String will be of the form

{
   A : "Val1", 
   B : [ SOME NESTED STUFF], 
   C : "Val3"
}

and i need to convert it to

{
   "A" : "Val1", 
   "B" : [ SOME NESTED STUFF], 
   "C" : "Val3"
}

without affecting any of the nested stuff. The number of keys ie A, B, C is fixed.

Thanks

P.S. I cannot get the appropriate JSON string returned to me, it is a pre existing code and it is quite risky to change it.

([^"]\\w+[^"]?): ... that's just off the top of my head, but should point you in the right direction. The Idea is to work back from the colon since you know you're looking for one or more word characters that aren't quoted preceding a colon. — Brian Roach
– Brian Roach, Commented Feb 7, 2012 at 23:38
Thank you all...I started using json-smart which is lenient in parsing the json, and does not require the key to have quotes. code.google.com/p/json-smart — Tuco
– Tuco, Commented Feb 8, 2012 at 20:06

pingw33n · Accepted Answer · 2012-02-07 23:35:54Z

1

If you happen to use Jackson it has support for non-standard JSON including unquoted keys: http://www.cowtowncoder.com/blog/archives/2009/08/entry_310.html

answered Feb 7, 2012 at 23:35

pingw33n

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1 Comment

Tuco Over a year ago

Thanks....i also realized that Json-smart also has it. code.google.com/p/json-smart

Qtax · Accepted Answer · 2012-02-08 01:23:39Z

1

If you are sure that all line starting with unquoted_word : need the word to be quoted, you could use something like:

str.replaceAll("(?m)^(\s+)(\w+)(\s*:)", "$1\"$2\"$3");

But if you can you are probably better off using a proper parser like other answers suggest.

answered Feb 8, 2012 at 1:23

Qtax

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Comments

Retief · Accepted Answer · 2012-02-07 23:41:16Z

0

If you really want a regex, this might work:

jsonString.replaceAll("(\\w+)\\s*\\:","\"$1\" :");

That said, if you are really worried about touching the nested stuff and corner cases, you want a real parser, not a regex. There's no way that a regex will be precise enough to avoid messing up if one of your values is the string " A : ". If pingw33n is correct about the jackson parser, it is by far the best answer.

answered Feb 7, 2012 at 23:41

Retief

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BigFatBaby · Accepted Answer · 2012-02-07 23:50:04Z

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use the following line code to enclose all the keys (single caps letter is considered a valid key here) with double quotes:

str = str.replaceAll("\s([A-Z])\s\:\s\"", "\"$1\" : ");

edited Feb 7, 2012 at 23:50

answered Feb 7, 2012 at 23:34

BigFatBaby

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10 Comments

cHao Over a year ago

Breaks on { A : " B : C "}.

HRgiger Over a year ago

if you update like this than it will work s.replaceAll("\\s([A-Z])\\s+([\\:\"])", "\"$1\" $2")

cHao Over a year ago

I wasn't even thinking about the unescaped backslashes. Even once they're fixed, the expression will still mess up the second a string contains " (some letter) :".

BigFatBaby Over a year ago

@cHao: indeed... i did not account for that... i edited my answer to fix this issue by adding the \" at the end of the regex string

cHao Over a year ago

@BigFatBaby: With proper JSON and a JSON parser, as the gods intended. Or JS and eval. But either one far exceeds the power of a regular expression. Regexes are quite limited in their ability; you go that route, before too long you'll be tearing your hair out in frustration.

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