Transform bad string format object into real object in JavaScript

Question

From a GET request to a service I receive a JSON object like this:

{
  "id": "SWKJHFDJHSDFLSVNDHLSDKJHNLSDLSDNVLKVSNLK",
  "payload": "{ att1: value1, att2: value2}"
}

When it should be like this:

{
  "id": "SWKJHFDJHSDFLSVNDHLSDKJHNLSDLSDNVLKVSNLK",
  "payload": { "att1": "value1", "att2": "value2"}
}

The problem is that the payload has a bad format for a JSON object, and I can't transform it into a real object with JSON.parse().

How can I transform "{ att1: value1, att2: value2}" into a real JavaScript object?

is the format always the same? i.e. could a regex find/replace work for you? — atmd
– atmd, Commented Jul 3, 2015 at 14:03
@atmd yes, the format is always the same, is a regular object of two attributes but inside quotes like a string "{ a: a1, b: b1 }" — David Prieto
– David Prieto, Commented Jul 3, 2015 at 14:06
a better question to ask is why your JSON is coming back like that in the first place... — Mike
– Mike, Commented Jul 3, 2015 at 14:19
@Mike its a bug in the service that the creators say they are too busy to fix right now. — David Prieto
– David Prieto, Commented Jul 3, 2015 at 14:30

atmd · Accepted Answer · 2015-07-06 07:48:08Z

1

if the format is the same then you can use regex to insert the speach marks like this:

"{ att1: value1, att2: value2}".replace(/([a-z0-9]+)/g,"'$1'");

This will insert ' around the key and values in the string.

so: "{ att1: value1, att2: value2}".replace(/([a-z0-9]+)/g,"\"$1\"");

N.B. You'll have to account for the possibility of single and/or double speach marks in the values of your input/api/json response. gives "{ "att1": "value1", "att2": "value2"}"

the quotes must be double quotes " for json parse to work, so using json parse on the above will give you your object, in one line it's

var myObject = JSON.parse("{ att1: value1, att2: value2}".replace(/([a-z0-9]+)/g,"\"$1\""));

edited Jul 6, 2015 at 7:48

answered Jul 3, 2015 at 14:14

atmd

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3 Comments

David Prieto Over a year ago

It doesn't work, it's still a string, not and object, and cannot be transformed into an object with JSON.parse().

David Prieto Over a year ago

It worked! First time in my life that a regex solves a problem instead of creating them.

atmd Over a year ago

glad I could help. sorry I didnt spot the double quote mistake earlyer, always forget json requires double quotes over single

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