Perl

Understanding JSON Array vs JSON Object

See more JSON Examples

This example explains the difference between a JSON Array and a JSON Object. A JSON Array begins with "[" and ends with "]", whereas a JSON Object begins with "{" and ends with "}".

Elements contained in a JSON array are accessed by index, whereas elements in a JSON object are typically accessed by name (but can also be accessed by index).

Perl

use chilkat();

$success = 0;

# A JSON array should be loaded into a Chilkat JSON array,
# whereas a JSON object should be loaded into a Chilkat JSON object.

# A JSON array may contain objects, and a JSON object may contains arrays, but
# it is the top-level (outermost) element that defines whether the JSON
# document is an array or an object.
# An array begins and ends with "[" ... "]"
# An object begins and ends with "{" ... "}"

# For example, an array containing 2 objects:
$strJsonArray = "[ { \"name\": \"Bill\" }, { \"name\": \"Ted\" } ]";

# Load it into a JSON array.
$jsonA = chilkat::CkJsonArray->new();
$success = $jsonA->Load($strJsonArray);
print "number of array elements: " . $jsonA->get_Size() . "\r\n";

# This is an object containing an array:
$strJsonObj = "{ \"characters\": [ \"Bill\", \"Ted\" ] }";

# Load it into a JSON object.
$jsonO = chilkat::CkJsonObject->new();
$success = $jsonO->Load($strJsonObj);
print "number of object members: " . $jsonO->get_Size() . "\r\n";