A common use of JSON is to exchange data to/from a web server.
When sending data to a web server, the data has to be a string.
Convert a JavaScript object into a string with
JSON.stringify().
Stringify a JavaScript Object #
Imagine we have this object in JavaScript:
var obj = { name: "John", age: 30, city: "New York" };
Use the JavaScript function JSON.stringify() to convert it into a string.
var myJSON = JSON.stringify(obj);
myJSON is now a string, and ready to be sent to a server:
Example #
var obj = { name: "John", age: 30, city: "New York" };
var myJSON = JSON.stringify(obj);
document.getElementById("demo").innerHTML = myJSON; You will learn how to send JSON to the server in the next chapter.
Stringify a JavaScript Array #
It is also possible to stringify JavaScript arrays:
Imagine we have this array in JavaScript:
var arr = [ "John", "Peter", "Sally", "Jane" ];
Use the JavaScript function JSON.stringify() to convert it into a string.
var myJSON = JSON.stringify(arr);
The result will be a string following the JSON notation.
myJSON is now a string, and ready to be sent to a server:
Example #
var arr = [ "John", "Peter", "Sally", "Jane" ];
var myJSON = JSON.stringify(arr);
document.getElementById("demo").innerHTML = myJSON; You will learn how to send JSON to the server in the next chapter.
var obj = { name: "John", today: new Date(), city : "New York" };
var myJSON = JSON.stringify(obj);
document.getElementById("demo").innerHTML = myJSON; var obj = { name: "John", age: function () {return 30;}, city: "New York"};
var myJSON = JSON.stringify(obj);
document.getElementById("demo").innerHTML = myJSON; This can be omitted if you convert your functions into strings before running the JSON.stringify() function.
Example #
var obj = { name: "John", age: function () {return 30;}, city: "New York" };
obj.age = obj.age.toString();
var myJSON = JSON.stringify(obj);
document.getElementById("demo").innerHTML = myJSON; If you send functions using JSON, the functions will lose their scope, and the receiver would have to use eval() to convert them back into functions.
Browser Support #
The JSON.stringify() function is included in JavaScript (ECMAScript) and is supported in all major browsers.
| chrome | internet explorer | Mozila firefox | Safari | Opera |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | 8.0 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 10.0 |
