Converting string "{a:2, b:4}" into object {a:2, b:4}

Question

I wanted to convert this string "{a:2, b:4}" into Object {a:2, b:4}.

I tried JSON.parse("{a:2, b:4}") and got no result.

The real data I'm getting is a little complex and can't post here because of company data.

Is there any way in JS to achieve it.

The reason JSON.parse didn't work is because that is not JSON. If your string was `{"a":2, "b":4}`, then you could have used JSON.parse — Alberto Rivera, Jun 17 '20 at 17:21
Is there a way? Sure, you could always use `eval` (please don't tho). Otherwise you need to transform that into valid JSON somehow or parse it into an object manually. — CRice, Jun 17 '20 at 17:22
Where does the data come from? Is it a user-provided object or is it something that you are building completely by yourself? — Sebastian Kaczmarek, Jun 17 '20 at 17:24

score 2 · Answer 1 · answered Jun 17 '20 at 17:21

2

let parsedObject = JSON.parse('{"a":2, "b":4}')
console.log(parsedObject)

JSON.parse('{"a":2, "b":4}') would work.

answered Jun 17 '20 at 17:21

kooskoos

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How do you convert the original data into JSON? – Álvaro González Jun 17 '20 at 17:24
This will work.. thanks but I'm getting data in `"{a:2, b:4}"` format and real data is little complex, can't change data like above. But I'll try it out once.. – harish kumar Jun 17 '20 at 17:26

Mahdi Jadaliha · Accepted Answer · 2020-06-17T17:34:37.130

1

you may use eval function:

s = '{a:2, b:4}'
eval('('+s+')')
// returns {a:2, b:4}

Don't forget to put your object in (...)

edited Jun 17 '20 at 17:34

answered Jun 17 '20 at 17:29

Mahdi Jadaliha

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This worked like this ``eval(`(${data})`)`` – harish kumar Jun 17 '20 at 17:36
Security aside, this assumes that data follows the syntax of JavaScript code (something we don't know) and doesn't have structures that can trigger function calls. – Álvaro González Jun 17 '20 at 17:38
Actually data is just simple plain object with multiple key & values. – harish kumar Jun 17 '20 at 17:39

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Jun 17 '20 at 17:30

0

You can't write a reliable parser unless you know the syntax of the format but, for the simple test case you've shared, you could do something like this (error checking omitted for brevity):

const input = '{a:2, b:4}';
const parsed = input.match(/^\{([a-z]+):(\d+),\s*([a-z]+):(\d+)\}$/);
const output = {
  [parsed[1]]: parsed[2],
  [parsed[3]]: parsed[4]
}
console.log(output, typeof output);

answered Jun 17 '20 at 17:30

Álvaro González

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With real complex data, this method is not convenient, I guess – harish kumar Jun 17 '20 at 17:34
1

Absolutely not. However, the issue wouldn't really be complexity but variability. What *else* can data contain? – Álvaro González Jun 17 '20 at 17:36

Converting string "{a:2, b:4}" into object {a:2, b:4}

3 Answers3