Re: [Resteasy-developers] java.lang.String JSON formated

[Jeff S. <je...@in...>]

On Thu, Sep 8, 2011 at 4:43 AM, Matthew Gilliard
<mat...@gm...> wrote:
>
>  The rfc for application/json (http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc4627.txt)
> states that JSON text must be an object or an array, which are fully
> defined at http://json.org/.

UGH.  Seriously, in this case the the spec is broken - or at least
ambiguous, because it doesn't address how to turn a simple String into
JSON.  Large swaths of the internet properly interpret simple strings,
numbers, and booleans as JSON - including Facebook (yeah, no shining
example but we have to live with it) which will produce 'false' on
numerous occasions.

On Thu, Sep 8, 2011 at 5:38 AM, Bill Burke <bb...@re...> wrote:
> I don't get it.  Why not just quote the damn string?

Current behavior violates the principle of least astonishment.  And is
the least useful option.   Look at this:

// Produces '{ field: value }', which parses nicely by browsers and ObjectMapper
Object getThing() { return new ComplexObject(); }

// Produces '[ 123 ]', which parses nicely by browsers and ObjectMapper
Object getThing() { return new int[] { 123 }; }

// Produces '123', which parses nicely by browsers and ObjectMapper
Object getThing() { return 123; }

// Produces 'false', which parses nicely by browsers and ObjectMapper
Object getThing() { return false; }

// Produces 'hello', which produces parse errors in browsers and ObjectMapper
Object getThing() { return "hello"; }

In the current system String behaves radically different from *nearly
every other type* you can possibly return from a method, in that it
alone is not JSON encoded.

At least three people on this list (counting myself) have voiced the
desire to return a simple String to the client from a method, and have
that String get JSON encoded properly.  Right now you cannot construct
a REST method that returns a simple String without putting JSON
formatting logic in the Resource, which means I have weird formatting
logic mixed with my business logic.

The JSON spec is at the very least ambiguous about how to encode a
simple String (and boolean and number).  Resteasy does the "expected
thing" with numbers and booleans, I want it to do the "expected thing"
with strings as well.

Jeff