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arraysjsonrfc4627

Can an array be top-level JSON-text?

per the debate in this post: json-conversion-in-javascript

Solution

  • Yes, an array is legal as top-level JSON-text.

    There are four standard documents defining JSON: RFC 4627, RFC 7159 (which obsoletes RFC 4627), ECMA-404, and RFC 8259 (which obsoletes RFC 7159, and calls ECMA-404 normative). They differ in which top-level elements they allow, but all allow an object or an array as the top-level element.

    • RFC 4627: Object or array.
      "A JSON text is a serialized object or array."
    • RFC 7159, RFC8259: Any JSON value.
      "A JSON text is a serialized value. Note that certain previous specifications of JSON constrained a JSON text to be an object or an array." Section 2
    • ECMA-404: Any JSON value.
      "A JSON text is a sequence of tokens formed from Unicode code points that conforms to the JSON value grammar."