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I have this following lines in my page, and i want it to converti into javascript array/object. But I cannot help myself 

<script language="javascript" src="json2.js"></script>
<script>
json={"status":"error","message":"there was an error","type":"unclassified"};
alert(json.stringify(json));
</script>

am i missing something?, i want to get the "error" value when i do alert(newvar.error) and i want to get the part "there was an error" when i do alert(newvar.message) that mean, the variable json, should be converted into javascript objects.

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What you have is already a JavaScript object. It isn't JSON. –  I Hate Lazy Oct 29 '12 at 14:15
    
Why are you using HTML 3.2? –  Quentin Oct 29 '12 at 14:16
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closed as too localized by I Hate Lazy, M42, kapa, C-Pound Guru, Steve Fenton Oct 29 '12 at 23:49

This question is unlikely to help any future visitors; it is only relevant to a small geographic area, a specific moment in time, or an extraordinarily narrow situation that is not generally applicable to the worldwide audience of the internet. For help making this question more broadly applicable, visit the help center.If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.

5 Answers

up vote 0 down vote accepted

i want it to convert [JSON string] into javascript array/object

To do that you can use JSON.parse(). To convert it back to a JSON string, you can use JSON.stringify.

Note: What you have provided should already be a JavaScript object.

json={"status":"error","message":"there was an error","type":"unclassified"};
​alert(json.type);​
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1  
It is already a JSON object. –  Asad Oct 29 '12 at 14:15
    
The question is malformed. That is why I added the quote. –  Jason McCreary Oct 29 '12 at 14:16
    
i still cant get any alert –  Nicholas Wild Oct 29 '12 at 14:17
    
i dont know, im very new to json. –  Nicholas Wild Oct 29 '12 at 14:18
    
@NicholasWild Well yes, you have to use JSON.stringify(json), not json.stringify(json). json doesn't have a stringify method. –  Asad Oct 29 '12 at 14:18
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up vote 2 down vote

You are confused as to what JSON is. It is:

a text format that is completely language independent but uses conventions that are familiar to programmers of the C-family of languages, including C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, Perl, Python, and many others. These properties make JSON an ideal data-interchange language.

Therefore:

json={"status":"error","message":"there was an error","type":"unclassified"};

is a javascript object.

This is JSON:

"{\"status\":\"error\",\"message\":\"there was an error\",\"type\":\"unclassified\"}"
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1  
It's not really even a representation of a "javascript object". It's more a representation of a generic data structure that can be parsed into whatever structure is appropriate for a given programming language. –  I Hate Lazy Oct 29 '12 at 14:18
1  
While you are correct, it's name does mean JavaScript Object Notation. –  Joe Oct 29 '12 at 14:20
    
Yes, you're absolutely right... and I hate that they gave it that name. It causes too much confusion. –  I Hate Lazy Oct 29 '12 at 14:25
    
It's like the Java in JavaScript...means absolutely nothing! I've updated my answer. –  Joe Oct 29 '12 at 14:29
1  
Agreed, and +1. Since you're updating, you may want to escape the inner quotes of your JSON example or change the outer ones to single. It'll make the formatting clearer. –  I Hate Lazy Oct 29 '12 at 14:36
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up vote 1 down vote

That is already an object. When you stringify it, you get a JSON representation of it. Also, the native object is JSON, not json.

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up vote 1 down vote

You probably want to convert an object to JSON representation. Then you need:

JSON.stringify(json)

In Javascript variable names are case sensitive.

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1  
+1 for spotting and focusing on the bug. –  Asad Oct 29 '12 at 14:24
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up vote 0 down vote

json={"status":"error","message":"there was an error","type":"unclassified"}; is a JavaScript object.

You only need to parse JSON if it comes in the form of a string.

You only need to serialise a JavaScript object (with JSON.stringify, not a stringify method on an arbitrary object) if you want to convert it to a string containing a JSON text.

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