PowerShell

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).

PowerShell

Add-Type -Path "C:\chilkat\ChilkatDotNet47-x64\ChilkatDotNet47.dll"

$success = $false

# 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 = New-Object Chilkat.JsonArray
$success = $jsonA.Load($strJsonArray)
$("number of array elements: " + $jsonA.Size)

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

# Load it into a JSON object.
$jsonO = New-Object Chilkat.JsonObject
$success = $jsonO.Load($strJsonObj)
$("number of object members: " + $jsonO.Size)