RTL.JSON Workbench Sample

This sample shows how to use the new JSON units provided in RAD Studio to write JSON objects, to format JSON-like text and to serialize JSON in BSON.

Location

You can find the JSON Workbench sample project at:

• Start | Programs | Embarcadero RAD Studio Rio | Samples, and then navigate to:
  • Object Pascal\RTL\Json
• Subversion Repository:
  • You can find Delphi code samples in GitHub Repositories. Search by name into the samples repositories according to your RAD Studio version.

Description

The sample consists of a JSON workbench that provides different utilities for testing the new JSON framework.

The JSON Formatter tab provides utilities to format and convert JSON-like text.

The JSON to BSON tab allows serializing JSON to BSON, and vice versa.

How to Use the Sample

1. Navigate to the location given above, and open JsonWorkbench.
2. Select 32-bit Windows or 64-bit Windows as the target platform.
3. Press F9 or choose Run > Run.

JSON Formatter

Use the Json Formatter tab for formatting and converting JSON-like content.

Each button provides a different utility:

• Beautify: Formats the JSON-like content provided, into a more structured format, using indentation for same name-value pairs level.
• Minify: Formats the JSON-like content provided, into a valid JSON block by removing all whitespaces and comments.
• To Delphi: Converts the JSON object to a Delphi String object.
• To Writer: Generates the Delphi code snippet to create the JSON object provided.
  • Check Use Builders to generate the Delphi code snippet according to the built-in JSON builder, defined in the Builders unit.

    Note: To create a project using the built-in JSON builder, you need to include the Builders unit in the Uses section.

  • Uncheck Use Builders to generate the Delphi code snippet using the base System.JSON.Writers class directly.

JSON to BSON

Use JSON to Bson tab to serialize JSON to BSON, and vice versa.

Click the arrows to start the serialization process in both ways.

Files

File	Contains
fmWorkBench.dproj	The project itself.
fmWorkBench.fmx	The main form.
fmWorkBench.pas	The main unit.
Writers.pas	The unit with extended classes for JSON writer and readers.
Converters.pas	The unit with functions to convert and format JSON data.

Classes

Class Name	Description
System.JSON.BSON	API to work with data in BSON format.
System.JSON.Builders	Wrapper around TJsonWriter to build a JSON array or object, with support for nested arrays and nested objects. Note: The sample does not use the unit.
System.JSON.Readers	Base class that provides logic to access to serialized JSON data.
System.JSON.Types	JSON and JSON extended token types.
System.JSON.Utils	Utilities for handling and converting text between String and JSON.
System.JSON.Writers	Base class that provides logic to serialize JSON data.

Implementation

The sample shows how to use the new RAD Studio JSON framework.

Converters Unit

Converters.pas is a helper unit that implements all the functions for convertion and formatting.

Some functions are used to apply a format to a JSON object, or to convert the JSON object. All the functions read the JSON object with a JSON reader and then iterate the String object received to analyse and format/convert the String token by token. The result provided is also a String object.

Writers Unit

Writers.pas extends JsonTextReader and JsonTextWriter classes that are used to read and write JSON text as a String.

Writers.pas extends the base classes TJsonReader and TJsonWriter to implement the TJSONBuilderGenerator and TJSONWriterGenerator class objects used by the Writer utility of the workbench.

Json Formatter

The tab has different utilites to format and convert JSON data.

All the utilities use the LoadCode function to load the JSON object from the TMemo in the left-hand side of the application. The LoadCode fuction calls the EvaluateJavaScript method from the TWebBrowser to add the custom JavaScript code to the HTML page in the right-hand side of the application.

Beautify

The Beautify utility generates formatted easy-to-read JSON from a JSON object. It beauties JSON data programmatically, applying indentation to same name-value pairs level.

It calls JsonReformat from Converters.pas with Indented set as True.

TConverters.JsonReformat(mInput.Text, True)

Minify

The Minify utility formats JSON data programmatically to a unique text block without whitespaces and indentation.

It calls JsonReformat from Converters.pas with Indented set as False.

TConverters.JsonReformat(mInput.Text, False)

To Delphi

To Delphi provides the Delphi code snippet to create a String object with the same data as the JSON object provided.

It calls Json2DelphiCode. Json2DelphiCode function calls JsonReformat function with Indented as True.

To Writer

To Writer generates as an output the source Delphi code snippet that creates the JSON object provided.

Use Builders checkbox:

• Enabled: It calls Json2JsonBuilderCode from Converters.pas to generate the Delphi code snippet according to the built-in JSON builder. The TJSONObjectBuilder class is less verbose than TJsonWriter, and more intuitive.
• Disabled: It calls Json2JsonWriterCode from Converters.pas to generate the Delphi code snippet using TJsonWriter class from System.JSON.Writers to write the JSON object.

Json to Bson

BSON is a binary-encoded serialization of JSON-like documents. BSON is designed to be lightweight, transversable and efficient. MongoDB uses BSON to storage data and as a network transfer data.

The sample serializes a JSON object to BSON (Binary JSON), and vice versa.

• To serialize JSON to BSON, it calls Json2BsonString and Bytes2String from Converters.pas.
• To serialize BSON to JSON, it calls BsonString2Json and String2Bytes from Converters.pas.

Uses

• System.JSON.BSON
• System.JSON.Writers
• System.JSON.Readers
• System.JSON.Types
• System.JSON.Builders
• System.JSON.Utils

See Also

• JSON
• Readers and Writers JSON Framework
• JSON Official Site
• BSON Standard Specification Version 1.0
• MongoDB