Node.js - Why does JSON.parse obfuscate objects in response body?

Question

When I use JSON.parse and log out some fetched data with the require module, nested objects are logged [Object]. Here is an example (currently using Node version 10.15):

const request = require("request");

const url = "https://www.reddit.com/r/javascript.json";

request(url, (error, response) => {
  const data = JSON.parse(response.body);
  console.log(data)
});

{ kind: 'Listing',
  data:
   { modhash: '',
     dist: 26,
     children:
      [ [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],
        [Object] ],
     after: 't3_bf4cl6',
     before: null } }

I was looking at this question: JSON.parse returns [object] from JSON

The person asking is curious why after JSON.parse, objects get logged as [Object]. The top answer states that the reason JSON.parse hides the data is for readability. But the answer doesn't explain a way to override the default behavior.

How do I get JSON.parse to log the full data? Is there a way to override the default behavior?

This has nothing to do with JSON.parse(). That returns a JavaScript object, and you're logging it out through the console mechanism. That is what's responsible for showing you the object value that way. — Pointy
– Pointy, Commented Apr 20, 2019 at 20:15
You can try console.dir() instead of console.log(), or write your own function to traverse the object graph and dump out the value exactly how you want to see it. — Pointy
– Pointy, Commented Apr 20, 2019 at 20:16
The console() mechanism has no standard; it's something that various JavaScript platforms provide (browsers, Node) but it's pretty much up to the individual implementors to decide what it does. — Pointy
– Pointy, Commented Apr 20, 2019 at 20:28

Catalyst · Accepted Answer · 2019-04-20 21:51:56Z

4

If logging response.body directly is not formatted the way you like, and that is why you are doing JSON.parse, then to log the full formatted object do console.log(JSON.stringify(JSON.parse(response.body), null, 2))

answered Apr 20, 2019 at 21:51

Catalyst

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Comments

baao · Accepted Answer · 2019-04-20 22:16:01Z

2

That's not JSON.parse, but console.log's default behavior for nested objects. You can use node's util.inspect to log with depth

const {inspect} = require('util');
console.log(inspect(obj, false, null, true));

Or as a function

function log(...data) {
  data.forEach(d => console.log(inspect(d, false, null, true)));
}

edited Apr 20, 2019 at 22:16

answered Apr 20, 2019 at 22:06

baao

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