json-cpp – A Minimal JSON-Like Library in C++

json-cpp is a lightweight C++ library that allows you to dynamically build, modify, and print JSON-like objects.
It was inspired by nlohmann::json, but designed from scratch to be simpler, portable, and directly usable in custom projects.

This project integrates naturally with Reactive-CPP (https://github.com/The-codeMachine/Reactive-CPP),
but it works standalone as well.

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✨ Features

• Store key–value pairs inside JSON-like objects
• Supports string, int, long, and double types
  (stored internally as strings but convertible back)
• Add and remove fields dynamically
• Nested JSON objects supported
• Pretty-print with formatting
• Simple and extensible design

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📦 Example Usage

#include "json.hpp"
#include

int main() {
// Create a base JSON object
json root;

// Add simple key–value pairs  
root.add(new json_data("name", "Alice"));  
root.add(new json_data("age", 25));  
root.add(new json_data("pi", 3.14159));  

// Add nested JSON object  
json* address = new json();  
address->add(new json_data("city", "Calgary"));  
address->add(new json_data("country", "Canada"));  

root.add(new json_data("address", address));  

// Print formatted JSON  
std::cout << root.print() << std::endl;  

return 0;  

}

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✅ Output

{
{name: Alice},
{age: 25},
{pi: 3.14159},
{address: {
{city: Calgary},
{country: Canada}
}}
}

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🛠️ How It Works

• json is a container that holds json_data objects
• json_data stores a key and a value
• All values are stored internally as std::string,
  but constructors accept string, int, long, and double
• print() converts the JSON object into a formatted string
• Nesting is achieved by passing another json* as the value of json_data

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🔮 Planned Features

• Proper JSON compliance (quoted keys, string escaping, etc.)
• Array support ([ ... ])
• Automatic memory management with std::unique_ptr instead of raw pointers
• Type-safe getters (as_int(), as_double(), etc.)
• Integration with Reactive-CPP for reactive updates

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📂 Project Structure

json-cpp/
├── include/
│ └── json.hpp # Main header file
├── examples/
│ └── example.cpp # Example usage
└── README.md

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🚀 Getting Started

1. Clone the repo:
   git clone https://github.com/your-username/json-cpp.git

2. Include json.hpp in your project

3. Compile with C++17 or higher:
   g++ -std=c++17 examples/example.cpp -o example
   ./example

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📜 License

MIT License.
Use freely in personal and commercial projects.