Javascript cannot parsing JSON if the data contains some URL

Question

I have a valid JSON:

{"name":"tono","html":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/someurl.com\">Here<\/a> is the link<\/p>"}

But, when I parse it through javascript (I use firefox's console)

JSON.parse('{"name":"tono","html":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/someurl.com\">Here<\/a> is the link<\/p>"}');

I get this error

SyntaxError: JSON.parse: expected ',' or '}' after property value in object at line 1 column 36 of the JSON data

Is it an expected behavior? And how to parse JSON which contains URL correctly?

Just for additional information, this one works:

JSON.parse('{"name":"tono","html":"<p><a href=>Here<\/a> is the link<\/p>"}');

Object { name: "tono", html: "<p><a href=>Here</a> is the link</p>" }

More additional information:

The JSON parsed flawlessly here: http://jsonviewer.stack.hu

You cannot simply put any arbitrary string into JS code and expect it to stay the same: you must encode it properly. Just try to alert `'{"name":"tono","html":"
Here<\/a> is the link<\/p>"}'` string and you'll spot the problem. — zerkms, Oct 05 '15 at 22:11
You need to escape the backslashes when you use them in a string literal. — Barmar, Oct 05 '15 at 22:11
@zerkms The standard also allows you to escape each occurrence of the letter e, but there would be no reason to do so. — David Conrad, Oct 05 '15 at 22:17
[Why are forward slashes escaped](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1580647/json-why-are-forward-slashes-escaped) — Barmar, Oct 05 '15 at 22:17
@DavidConrad and your point is? Encoder decided to put a slash before a forward slash. So? Are you suggesting to apply string replace function on over a valid JSON string? — zerkms, Oct 05 '15 at 22:18
@Barmar Thanks for that. It's an edge case, certainly, but worth knowing about. — David Conrad, Oct 05 '15 at 22:20
Why are you putting a JSON string into the source code in the first place? If you're writing Javascript, just put the object literal: `obj = {"name":"tono","html":"
Here<\/a> is the link<\/p>"};` — Barmar, Oct 05 '15 at 23:39
I don't say I put it on the source code. Actually I was trying to parse PHP's response from AJAX. — goFrendiAsgard, Oct 06 '15 at 00:25

score 3 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 12:14

3

Escape the backslashes in a string literal so they'll be treated literally.

console.log(JSON.parse('{"name":"tono","html":"<p><a href=\\"http:\\/\\/someurl.com\\">Here<\\/a> is the link<\\/p>"}'));

The reason why the forward slashes are escaped is explained here JSON: why are forward slashes escaped?

edited May 23 '17 at 12:14

Community

answered Oct 05 '15 at 22:13

Barmar

1

I updated the answer to add a link to the reason for the redundant escapes – Barmar Oct 05 '15 at 22:19
1

It may be redundant, but it works :) And the URL is worth to read. – goFrendiAsgard Oct 05 '15 at 22:19

lksmth · Answer 2 · 2015-10-05T22:22:51.827

-2

As Barmar explained, you can escape the backslashes like such.

JSON.parse('{"name":"tono","html":"<p><a href=\\"http://someurl.com\\">Here</a> is the link</p>"}');

edited Oct 05 '15 at 22:22

answered Oct 05 '15 at 22:14

lksmth

barmar explained it, so why are you? – I wrestled a bear once. Oct 05 '15 at 22:16
Look: http://jsfiddle.net/yjedwLws/ you will see what's wrong. it completey messes up the url. – I wrestled a bear once. Oct 05 '15 at 22:18
@Pamblam I don't see anything wrong with the output. Are you sure you understand what `JSON.stringify` does? – zerkms Oct 05 '15 at 22:19

2 Answers2