Javascript:: JSON parse does not accept line breaks?

Question

I wrote a sample code just to explain what I was after so...

Here is a working example:

var json='{"hezi":"firstName","gangina":"lastName"}',
    obj=JSON.parse(json);

alert(obj.gangina);

And here is the same exact code with line breaks and tabs (just to make the code more readable since in my real code the JSON array string is HUGE):

var json=
'
    {
        "hezi":"firstName",
        "gangina":"lastName"
    }
',
    obj=JSON.parse(json);

alert(obj.gangina);

I even tried to compensate with :

    obj=JSON.parse(json.replace(/(\r\n|\n|\r|\t)/gm,""));

So... Technically I can solve this issue by compressing my line (removing all \r\n|\n|\r|\t manually) but I'm quite sure there is a quick fix for that regardless beautifying my code.

Small tweak needed here...

Your second json is invalid string because strings can't have newlines in them in javascript. — jcubic
– jcubic, Commented Apr 18, 2015 at 12:53
You seem to be working under the assumption that line breaks are allowed in JavaScript strings. They are not, unless escaped with a \. — Touffy
– Touffy, Commented Apr 18, 2015 at 12:53
@jcubic So the only way to solve it is to compress it manually ? — Hezi-Gangina
– Hezi-Gangina, Commented Apr 18, 2015 at 12:56
It's nothing about compression, The problem is in your string definition. See jehna1's anwer below. — Zoltán Tamási
– Zoltán Tamási, Commented Apr 18, 2015 at 12:58
It has nothing to do with the line breaks in the JSON. It's because you're writing the JSON string in a JavaScript file. Your replace call won't even be evaluated because the problem occurs earlier. — Touffy
– Touffy, Commented Apr 18, 2015 at 12:58

jehna1 · Accepted Answer · 2015-04-18 12:54:40Z

7

JavaScript does not accept line breaks without escaping. You can fix this by escaping the line breaks:

var json=
'\
    {\
        "hezi":"firstName",\
        "gangina":"lastName"\
    }\
',
obj=JSON.parse(json);

alert(obj.gangina);

answered Apr 18, 2015 at 12:54

jehna1

3,1202 gold badges21 silver badges30 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

4 Comments

php_nub_qq Over a year ago

I always used to terminate and concatenate strings, f me right?

Zoltán Tamási Over a year ago

@php_nub_qq Then me too :)

plalx Over a year ago

@php_nub_qq Well, results aren't equivalent. You do not want line breaks in there.

jehna1 Over a year ago

@php_nub_qq you can also make an array and join with empty string ;)

KooiInc · Accepted Answer · 2015-04-18 13:05:49Z

3

I suppose you want to 'pretty print' long JSON-strings?

In that case: you can use the space parameter in JSON.stringify to display a long JSON-string formatted. See MDN. For example:

var json = '{"hezi":"firstName","gangina":"lastName"}'
    obj = JSON.parse(json);

document.querySelector('#result').innerHTML = JSON.stringify(obj, null, ' ');

<pre id="result"></pre>

answered Apr 18, 2015 at 13:05

KooiInc

124k32 gold badges145 silver badges181 bronze badges

Comments

Dave Jones · Accepted Answer · 2015-04-18 13:29:19Z

3

You need to use line breaks to achieve this but escaping is not recommended due to it being easy to escape a space by mistake which would throw a formatting error.

Use..

var json=
'{'+
 '"hezi":"firstName",'+
 '"gangina":"lastName"'+
'}',
    obj=JSON.parse(json);

alert(obj.gangina);

But my question would be why use json in the 1st place, if hand coding use an object then this wouldn't be an issue, json data should only be loaded from external source.

answered Apr 18, 2015 at 13:29

Dave Jones

3441 silver badge7 bronze badges

Comments

Lewis · Accepted Answer · 2015-04-18 13:42:25Z

2

ES6 template strings are now supported in Chrome 41+ and Firefox 34+. It's time to know about it.

JSON.parse(`
   {
        "hezi":"firstName",
        "gangina":"lastName"
    }
`);

edited Apr 18, 2015 at 13:42

answered Apr 18, 2015 at 13:25

Lewis

15k14 gold badges70 silver badges88 bronze badges

1 Comment

Hezi-Gangina Over a year ago

Well... As I state on my last sentence on this current post : "Small tweak needed here... " I guess that you are DE man that I was looking for! Thanks bro! :}

Touffy · Accepted Answer · 2015-04-18 13:03:08Z

2

Just to clear up the confusion. The error is here:

var json=
'
    {

On line 2, there's a quote: the beginning of a string. Then an unescaped line break. That causes a SyntaxError and none of your code is ever executed. In particular, JSON.parse isn't executed.

answered Apr 18, 2015 at 13:03

Touffy

6,63626 silver badges31 bronze badges

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

Javascript:: JSON parse does not accept line breaks?

5 Answers 5

4 Comments

Comments

Comments

1 Comment

Comments

Your Answer

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

5 Answers 5

4 Comments

Comments

Comments

1 Comment

Comments

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest

Related