$http GET boolean

[Mark Volkmann]

I'm invoking a REST service that returns a boolean as JSON.

The response Content-Type header is "application/json".

The raw text of the response is:

false

Note there are no quotes around it.

When I get the value in the success method, it is the string "false".

Shouldn't I get the boolean value false?

--
R. Mark Volkmann
Object Computing, Inc.

[Daniel Tabuenca]

A raw text of just false is not valid JSON and as such is probably not parsed by the browser as JSON.

Values in JSON have to be wrapped in either an array or an object, you can't just have a constant value sitting as the root like that.

[Sander Elias]

Hi Mark,

So the raw text you get is a string. This is not that surprising, once you have written a JSON parser :)

to be short, most JSON parsers expect an [ or an { as first token, and if not found, most of the times, they just give back what is found.

While your response is technically correct JSON, most parsers don't handle single value responses.

Regards

Sander

[Daniel Tabuenca]

But it's NOT technically correct JSON. The JSON RFC clearly states that the top-level item is either an object or an array, not a value.

[Sander Elias]

Hi Daniel,

Can you point me to that section? I could not find it on JSON.org neighter in the ecma 404 spec. (that name still cracks me up ;) ) I just read the json rfc (wasn't aware of that one!) and it is indeed stated in there. 

Still, the rfc isn't the formal standard, the ecma 404 is, and in there it's not! So, formally speaking, it is technically correct. 

however I do think it's a bad idea to use it like that! and most parsers don't parse it correctly!

Regards

Sander

[Daniel Tabuenca]

I think you're right, the ecma 404 spec changed from prior versions of RFCs, although I've run into many parser implementations that go off the older specifications that had the "A JSON text is a serialized object or array." bit in them.

[Sander Elias]

Daniel,

It was never on the original spec (JSON.org). I wasn't aware of the rfc. I did write an JSON parser, and during that, I found out that Crockfords own reference parser didn't handle the single value either. I think that's where the confusion came from.

Regards

Sander

[Daniel Tabuenca]

The RFC is here:

http://tools.ietf.org/search/rfc4627

[Sander Elias]

Daniel,

I know, I had just read the entire thing. it is indeed in there as I said in a previous message ;)

Regards

Sander

[Mark Volkmann]

I think it's interesting that browsers, at least Chrome, handle this the way I expected.

If you run this in the dev tools console, you'll get boolean:

typeof JSON.parse('false')

If you run this, you'll get string:

typeof JSON.parse('"false"')

Does Angular use it's own JSON parser instead of the JSON.parse?

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[Daniel Tabuenca]

It actually does use JSON.parse, but first it checks if the JSON starts/ends with:

```javascript

 var JSON_START = /^\s*(\[|\{[^\{])/,

      JSON_END = /[\}\]]\s*$/,

```

If it doesn't match those it is not parsed as JSON at all and just returned as a string.

[Mark Volkmann]

Hmm ... perhaps it should not do that. I think it should support parsing of string, number and number primitive values. It seems that simply removing that check would make it work.

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[Gerardo Lima]

For the current version of both Chrome and Firefox, it doesn't happen anymore:

typeof JSON.parse('false') == "boolean"
typeof JSON.parse("false") == "boolean"