JSON with comments and change values

jsonComm format of data is multiline string format like JSON or YAML but it have single line or multiline comments.

jsonComm object contains methods for

• convert data to JSON string without comments
• convert to JSON with comments added before associated key-value pairs
• change of values of unique keys with keeping comments
• convert jsonComm string from/to Yaml or XML.

Screenshots of test; online test page.

Examples

jsonComm adds javascript style comments to pure JSON and presents functions for converting to JSON and change any values in jsonComm file.

//<multiline string of jsonComm file>
var jComm = '//first line\n\
\n\
	{"aaa": "qwerty",//00\n\
	"bbb": 1234 //comment (not pure JSON syntax)\n\
	,"ccc": true # alternative comment style\n\
	,"dd\\"d":/*multiline\\" comm\\ent*/ /*comm2\\*/null,\n\
	"ee//e": "example of any symbols in key including inactive comments",\n\
	"multiline1"/*: 1, //- example of multiline comments\n\
	"multiline2": 2,\n\
	"multiline3":= 1234,*/:[36.8,false/*,34*/,\n\
		"/**/",[1,2,3,4,[//56789\n\
		5,6,[[/*0*/7,{"x":/*xx*/"x"}],8]],{}]  ],\n\
	"mayBeAnyStructure":{"a":1/**/,"b":2},\n\
"lineEnd\\\\":"end"\n\
}//after json\n  \n /*2nd after*/  ';

	//NOTE for this string: any single backslash will be incorrect example
	//  because it will be shielding symbol for next and have sense
	//  for "\n" or as trailing symbol for this multiline notation

Test this string in browser: jsonCommTest.js (results will be printed in console).

Using of jsonComm functions

var jsonWoComm = jsonComm.unComment(jComm), //returns JSON string (not guarantees)
	jsonWithComm = jsonComm.comm2json(jComm)
	,jsonString = JSON.stringify(JSON.parse(jsonWoComm))
	
	//to JSON with key-value comments
	//..."bbb#": "comment (not pure JSON syntax)",
	//  "bbb": 1234, ...
	,jsonCommChecked = JSON.stringify(JSON.parse(jsObjWithComm))
	
	//direct convert to YAML (TODO)
	,yamlStringDirect = jsonComm.toYaml(jComm)
	
	//direct convert to XML (TODO)
	,xmlStringDirect = jsonComm.toXml(jComm)
	
	//change any value of unique key in JSON format (from begin of line)
	,jCommChanged = jsonComm.change(jComm, {multiline1: 'newValue'})
	//returns string with saving of all comments and other non-JSON elements
	// with change of value of key in second argument
	
	//group change
	,jCommChanged2 = jsonComm.change(jComm, {multiline1:'newValue', ccc: false});
	
	//to jsonComm (TODO)
	jsObjWithComm['aaa#'] = 'new comment of "aaa" key';
	var jCommNew3 = jsonComm.to(jsObjWithComm);
	//it converts all keys with "#" at ends and which have pairs to lines with comments

Simple conversion in JSON w/o jsonComm object (< 1Kbytes)

jComm.replace(/(?:(?:((?:\{|,)\s*)(?:(?:\s*(?:\/\/|#)[^\r\n]*(\r?\n|$))*(?:\s*\/\*\*\/|\s*\/\*(?:[\s\S]?(?!\*\/))+.{3})*)*(\s*"(?:\\"|[^\r\n"])*"\s*)(?:(?:\s*(?:\/\/|#)[^\r\n]*(\r?\n|$))*(?:\s*\/\*\*\/|\s*\/\*(?:[\s\S]?(?!\*\/))+.{3})*)*(\s*:\s*)(?:(?:\s*(?:\/\/|#)[^\r\n]*(\r?\n|$))*(?:\s*\/\*\*\/|\s*\/\*(?:[\s\S]?(?!\*\/))+.{3})*)*(\s*(?:[0-9.eE+-]+|true|false|null|"(?:\\"|[^\r\n"])*"|(?!:\{|:\[))\s*)(?:(?:\s*(?:\/\/|#)[^\r\n]*(\r?\n|$))*(?:\s*\/\*\*\/|\s*\/\*(?:[\s\S]?(?!\*\/))+.{3})*)*(\s*(?:\}|(?!,))\s*)?)+?|(?:((?:\[|,)\s*)(?:(?:\s*(?:\/\/|#)[^\r\n]*(\r?\n|$))*(?:\s*\/\*\*\/|\s*\/\*(?:[\s\S]?(?!\*\/))+.{3})*)*(\s*(?:[0-9.eE+-]+|true|false|null|"(?:\\"|[^\r\n"])*"|(?!:\{|:\[))\s*)(?:(?:\s*(?:\/\/|#)[^\r\n]*(\r?\n|$))*(?:\s*\/\*\*\/|\s*\/\*(?:[\s\S]?(?!\*\/))+.{3})*)*(\s*(?:\]|(?!,))\s*)?)+?|(?:(?:\s*(?:\/\/|#)[^\r\n]*(\r?\n|$))*(?:\s*\/\*\*\/|\s*\/\*(?:[\s\S]?(?!\*\/))+.{3})*)*\s*)/g,'$1$2$3$4$5$6$7$8$9$10$11$12$13$14');
//(copy&paste)

Exceptions

errorParse - (TODO) exception of parse error of jComm string to some format.

jsonComm.on('errorParse', function(){console.error('errorParse')}

How to use it in NodeJS (Gruntfile.js etc...) and JS

var configFile = fs.readFileSync('config/config.js').toString('utf-8')
	,config = JSON.parse(configFile.replace(/(?:(?:((?:\{|,)\s*)(?:(?:\s*(?:\/\/|#)[^\r\n]*(\r?\n|$))*(?:\s*\/\*\*\/|\s*\/\*(?:[\s\S]?(?!\*\/))+.{3})*)*(\s*"(?:\\"|[^\r\n"])*"\s*)(?:(?:\s*(?:\/\/|#)[^\r\n]*(\r?\n|$))*(?:\s*\/\*\*\/|\s*\/\*(?:[\s\S]?(?!\*\/))+.{3})*)*(\s*:\s*)(?:(?:\s*(?:\/\/|#)[^\r\n]*(\r?\n|$))*(?:\s*\/\*\*\/|\s*\/\*(?:[\s\S]?(?!\*\/))+.{3})*)*(\s*(?:[0-9.eE+-]+|true|false|null|"(?:\\"|[^\r\n"])*"|(?!:\{|:\[))\s*)(?:(?:\s*(?:\/\/|#)[^\r\n]*(\r?\n|$))*(?:\s*\/\*\*\/|\s*\/\*(?:[\s\S]?(?!\*\/))+.{3})*)*(\s*(?:\}|(?!,))\s*)?)+?|(?:((?:\[|,)\s*)(?:(?:\s*(?:\/\/|#)[^\r\n]*(\r?\n|$))*(?:\s*\/\*\*\/|\s*\/\*(?:[\s\S]?(?!\*\/))+.{3})*)*(\s*(?:[0-9.eE+-]+|true|false|null|"(?:\\"|[^\r\n"])*"|(?!:\{|:\[))\s*)(?:(?:\s*(?:\/\/|#)[^\r\n]*(\r?\n|$))*(?:\s*\/\*\*\/|\s*\/\*(?:[\s\S]?(?!\*\/))+.{3})*)*(\s*(?:\]|(?!,))\s*)?)+?|(?:(?:\s*(?:\/\/|#)[^\r\n]*(\r?\n|$))*(?:\s*\/\*\*\/|\s*\/\*(?:[\s\S]?(?!\*\/))+.{3})*)*\s*)/g,'$1$2$3$4$5$6$7$8$9$10$11$12$13$14') );
//... use config object if not need to change file config.js.

If it need to change, use 2 functions, .unComment and .change in jsonComm object.

var config = JSON.parse(jsonComm.unComment(fs.readFileSync('config/config.js'
	,{encoding:'utf-8'})));
//... calc changes ...
var changes = {version: newVersion}; //for example
fs.writeFileSync('config/config.js', jsonComm.change(config, changes));

*You may contribute todos and new parts of jsonComm lib*

(subj)

Publications

• Commentable JSON (ru), 2015-01-09.

License

LGPL v.3

Similar projects

• Standard JSON
• Why D.Crockford delete comments from the standard?
• rfc-7159 (March, 2014): latest standard recommendations;
• "Can I comment a JSON file?" on the SO;
• JSON.minify() (blog) and Github
• grunt- , gulp, broccoli-, strip-json-comments (Github)
• JSON Comments (another author);
• Suggested Improvements to JSON (article, 2011)
• JSON5 (results of ideas similar to prev., JS)
• Hjson, the Human JSON (Hjson keep my comments when updating a config file; JS, Python, C#)