Error in parsing json Expecting '{', '['**

Question

This is the json .

"{
    'places': [
        {
            'name': 'New\x20Orleans,
            \x20US\x20\x28New\x20Lakefront\x20\x2D\x20NEW\x29',
            'code': 'NEW'
        }

    ]
}"

I am getting json parsererror. I am checking on http://jsonlint.com/ and it shows following error

Parse error on line 1:
"{    'places': [ 
^
Expecting '{', '['

Please explain what are the problems with the json and do I correct it?

Answer 1

If you literally mean that the string, as a whole, is your JSON text (containing something that isn't JSON), there are three issues:

1. It's just a JSON fragment, not a full JSON document.

2. Literal line breaks within strings are not valid in JSON, use \n.

3. \x is an invalid escape sequence in JSON strings. If you want your contained non-JSON text to have a \x escape (e.g., when you read the value of the overall string and parse it), you have to escape that backslash: \\x.

In a full JSON document, the top level must be an object or array:

{"prop": "value"}

[1, 2, 3]

Most JSON parsers support parsing fragments, such as standalone strings. (For instance, JavaScript's JSON.parse supports this.) http://jsonlint.com is doing full document parsing, however.

Here's your fragment wrapped in an object with the line breaks and \x issue handled:

{
    "stuff": "{\n 'places': [\n {\n 'name': 'New\\x20Orleans,\n \\x20US\\x20\\x28New\\x20Lakefront\\x20\\x2D\\x20NEW\\x29',\n 'code': 'NEW'\n }\n \n ]\n }"
}

---

The text within the string is also not valid JSON, but perhaps it's not meant to be. For completeness: JSON requires that all keys and strings be in double quotes ("), not single quotes ('). It also doesn't allow literal line breaks within string literals (use \n instead), and doesn't support \x escapes. See http://json.org for details.

Here's a version as valid JSON with the \x converted to the correct JSON \u escape:

{
    "places": [
        {
            "name": "New\u0020Orleans,\n\u0020US\u0020\u0028New\u0020Lakefront\u0020\u002D\u0020NEW\u0029",
            "code": "NEW"
        }
    ]
}

...also those escapes are all actually defining perfectly normal characters, so:

{
    "places": [
        {
            "name": "New Orleans,\n US (New Lakefront - NEW)",
            "code": "NEW"
        }
    ]
}