CODEWITHSUNDEEP
jsond3.jsvaadinforce-layout
SuperUser01
SuperUser01

Reputation: 319

d3.js forced layout graph: parse String to link-array

I am referring to this example: http://bl.ocks.org/mbostock/1153292 , specifically to these beautiful lines of code:

var links = [
  {source: "Microsoft", target: "Amazon", type: "licensing"},
  ...
  {source: "Nokia", target: "Qualcomm", type: "suit"}
];

var nodes = {};

// Compute the distinct nodes from the links.
links.forEach(function(link) {
  link.source = nodes[link.source] || (nodes[link.source] = {name: link.source});
  link.target = nodes[link.target] || (nodes[link.target] = {name: link.target});
});

I'd like to know what data format 'var links' here has, and how I would parse the following java string (with essentially the same content)

String someLinks = "[{source: \"Microsoft\", target: ... }, ...]"

into something equal to the javascript 'var links' above, from which I can then create the graph.

I've tried 

var links = JSON.parse( string );

But that doesn't do the job... 'var links' doesn't seem to be JSON? EDIT: Or should I use a different java format, e.g. some kind of Array? (Doesn't have to be a String)

Upvotes: 1

Views: 673

Answers (2)

cfrick
cfrick

Reputation: 37073

Your value in String someLinks is no valid JSON. It lacks the quotes on the attribute names. JSON is more pedantic than javascript itself.

JSON.parse('[{"source":"A"},{"source":"B"}]')

will work (note the " around source.

Also you should avoid writing "protocols" by hand. If you need to build a JSON string in javascript, you can use

JSON.stringify([{source:'A'},{source:'B'}])

Note that JSON e.g. also escapes / for security reasons. An oversight like this can quickly end in errors or worse.

Upvotes: 1

Nicolas78
Nicolas78

Reputation: 5144

I believe this is JSON in a string. Since JSON is simply JavaScript, you might be able to simply "run" the code to create the corresponding data structure. So try

var links = eval(someLinks)

Even though I have the suspicion if we take a step back, things might be handled differently and you wouldn't need eval in the first place (since it's generally considered bad style)

Upvotes: 0

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