web2py: json serializer and javascript has problems with quotes around python string

Question

I want a complex 2d list to be brought from python to javascript. Javascript handles the numbers and list syntax (brackets and commas) just fine, but it can't understand the quotes around a string. I have tried embedding the list directly to the code and converting it to json first, but neither works. I think problem is in that javascript somehow converts " to something else, I show what I mean in a minute.

But here's a sample code to reproduce the problem.

Action:

def problem():
    this_works = [[1,2,5,6.99],[24,55,6.8,124]]
    this_does_not = [["a",5,6,7],["b",8,9,10]]
    return dict(locals())

View:

{{extend 'layout.html'}}
{{from gluon.serializers import json}}

<p id="test_1">unchanged</p>
<p id="test_2">unchanged</p>
<p id="test_3">unchanged</p>

<script>
    var x;
    x = {{=this_works}};
    document.getElementById("test_1").innerHTML = x;

    var y;
    //y = {{=this_does_not}};
    document.getElementById("test_2").innerHTML = y;

    var z;
    //z = {{=json(this_does_not)}};
    document.getElementById("test_3").innerHTML = z;

</script>

If either of those two lines are uncommented, the code breaks. If you check the source code of the html, you can see that web2py changes " to something else:

<script>
    var x;
    x = [[1, 2, 5, 6.99], [24, 55, 6.8, 124]];
    document.getElementById("test_1").innerHTML = x;

    var y;
    //y = [[&#x27;a&#x27;, 5, 6, 7], [&#x27;b&#x27;, 8, 9, 10]];
    document.getElementById("test_2").innerHTML = y;

    var z;
    //z = [[&quot;a&quot;, 5, 6, 7], [&quot;b&quot;, 8, 9, 10]];
    document.getElementById("test_3").innerHTML = z;

</script>

Answer 1

For security reasons, the web2py template engine escapes all text inserted in the template. To prevent this, you should use the XML() helper:

y = {{=XML(this_does_not)}};