Custom Serialization With toJSON
Level: Intermediate
Just like Objects have their own toString() method for determining how they’re converted (most of the time) to strings, they too can have a toJSON() method for determining how they’re converted into JSON. If present, the toJSON() method is called when the object is converted to a JSON string via JSON.stringify().
Though used to create a JSON string, toJSON() is actually expected to return an object. It is that returned object that is then run through the stringify process and used to represent the current object in the JSON string.
let normal = { prop: 1 };
let special = {
prop: 1,
toJSON() {
return { jsonProp: 2 };
}
};
console.log(JSON.stringify(normal)); // {"prop": 1}
console.log(JSON.stringify(special)); // {"jsonProp": 2}
When called, toJSON() will receive a single argument which is the key of the object being converted.
let parent = {
child: {
prop: 1,
toJSON(key) {
return { [key]: 'is my key' };
}
}
};
console.log(JSON.stringify(parent));
// {"child":{"child":"is my key"}}
If the object is the same object is passed into toJSON() the key will be an empty string (""). Be careful, however, since empty strings are also valid property keys. So when key is an empty string, it is not also a guarantee that the object was the same object given to toJSON().
Unlike toString(), most objects do not implement this method and instead leave it to the default behavior of JSON.stringify() to convert them. The only exception in the core API is, probably not surprisingly by now, Date. The Date object has its own toJSON() which converts date objects into strings based on the return value of toISOString().
let date = new Date(1979, 0);
console.log(date.toJSON()); // 1979-01-01T05:00:00.000Z
console.log(date.toISOString()); // 1979-01-01T05:00:00.000Z
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