conversion from/to user-defined types

README.md

@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
   - [Conversion from STL containers](#conversion-from-stl-containers)
   - [JSON Pointer and JSON Patch](#json-pointer-and-json-patch)
   - [Implicit conversions](#implicit-conversions)
+  - [Conversions to/from arbitrary types](#arbitrary-types-conversions)
   - [Binary formats (CBOR and MessagePack)](#binary-formats-cbor-and-messagepack)
 - [Supported compilers](#supported-compilers)
 - [License](#license)
@@ -442,6 +443,225 @@ int vi = jn.get<int>();
 // etc.
 ```
 
+### Arbitrary types conversions
+
+Every type can be serialized in JSON, not just STL-containers and scalar types. Usually, you would do something along those lines:
+
+```cpp
+namespace ns {
+    // a simple struct to model a person
+    struct person {
+        std::string name;
+        std::string address;
+        int age;
+    };
+}
+
+ns::person p = {"Ned Flanders", "744 Evergreen Terrace", 60};
+
+// convert to JSON: copy each value into the JSON object
+json j;
+j["name"] = p.name;
+j["address"] = p.address;
+j["age"] = p.age;
+
+// ...
+
+// convert from JSON: copy each value from the JSON object
+ns::person p {
+    j["name"].get<std::string>(),
+    j["address"].get<std::string>(),
+    j["age"].get<int>()
+};
+```
+
+It works, but that's quite a lot of boilerplate... Fortunately, there's a better way:
+
+```cpp
+// create a person
+ns::person p {"Ned Flanders", "744 Evergreen Terrace", 60};
+
+// conversion: person -> json
+json j = p;
+
+std::cout << j << std::endl;
+// {"address":"744 Evergreen Terrace","age":60,"name":"Ned Flanders"}
+
+// conversion: json -> person
+ns::person p2 = j;
+
+// that's it
+assert(p == p2);
+```
+
+#### Basic usage
+
+To make this work with one of your types, you only need to provide two functions:
+
+```cpp
+using nlohmann::json;
+
+namespace ns {
+    void to_json(json& j, const person& p) {
+        j = json{{"name", p.name}, {"address", p.address}, {"age", p.age}};
+    }
+
+    void from_json(const json& j, person& p) {
+        p.name = j["name"].get<std::string>();
+        p.address = j["address"].get<std::string>();
+        p.age = j["age"].get<int>();
+    }
+} // namespace ns
+```
+
+That's all! When calling the `json` constructor with your type, your custom `to_json` method will be automatically called.
+Likewise, when calling `get<your_type>()`, the `from_json` method will be called.
+
+Some important things:
+
+* Those methods **MUST** be in your type's namespace (which can be the global namespace), or the library will not be able to locate them (in this example, they are in namespace `ns`, where `person` is defined).
+* When using `get<your_type>()`, `your_type` **MUST** be [DefaultConstructible](http://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/concept/DefaultConstructible). (There is a way to bypass those requirements described later.)
+
+#### How do I convert third-party types?
+
+This requires a bit more advanced technique. But first, let's see how this conversion mechanism works:
+
+The library uses **JSON Serializers** to convert types to json.
+The default serializer for `nlohmann::json` is `nlohmann::adl_serializer` (ADL means [Argument-Dependent Lookup](http://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/language/adl)).
+
+It is implemented like this (simplified):
+
+```cpp
+template <typename T>
+struct adl_serializer {
+    static void to_json(json& j, const T& value) {
+        // calls the "to_json" method in T's namespace
+    }
+
+    static void from_json(const json& j, T& value) {
+        // same thing, but with the "from_json" method
+    }
+};
+```
+
+This serializer works fine when you have control over the type's namespace. However, what about `boost::optional`, or `std::filesystem::path` (C++17)? Hijacking the `boost` namespace is pretty bad, and it's illegal to add something other than template specializations to `std`...
+
+To solve this, you need to add a specialization of `adl_serializer` to the `nlohmann` namespace, here's an example:
+
+```cpp
+// partial specialization (full specialization works too)
+namespace nlohmann {
+    template <typename T>
+    struct adl_serializer<boost::optional<T>> {
+        static void to_json(json& j, const boost::optional<T>& opt) {
+            if (opt == boost::none) {
+                j = nullptr;
+            } else {
+              j = *opt; // this will call adl_serializer<T>::to_json which will
+                        // find the free function to_json in T's namespace!
+            }
+        }
+
+        static void from_json(const json& j, boost::optional<T>& opt) {
+            if (!j.is_null()) {
+                opt = j.get<T>(); // same as above, but with 
+                                  // adl_serializer<T>::from_json
+            }
+        }
+    };
+}
+```
+
+#### How can I use `get()` for non-default constructible/non-copyable types?
+
+There is a way, if your type is [MoveConstructible](http://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/concept/MoveConstructible). You will need to specialize the `adl_serializer` as well, but with a special `from_json` overload:
+
+```cpp
+struct move_only_type {
+    move_only_type() = delete;
+    move_only_type(int ii): i(ii) {}
+    move_only_type(const move_only_type&) = delete;
+    move_only_type(move_only_type&&) = default;
+
+    private:
+        int i;
+};
+
+namespace nlohmann {
+    template <>
+    struct adl_serializer<move_only_type> {
+        // note: the return type is no longer 'void', and the method only takes
+        // one argument
+        static move_only_type from_json(const json& j) {
+            return {j.get<int>()};
+        }
+
+        // Here's the catch! You must provide a to_json method! Otherwise you
+        // will not be able to convert move_only_type to json, since you fully
+        // specialized adl_serializer on that type
+        static void to_json(json& j, move_only_type t) {
+            j = t.i;
+        }
+    };
+}
+```
+
+#### Can I write my own serializer? (Advanced use)
+
+Yes. You might want to take a look at [`unit-udt.cpp`](https://github.com/nlohmann/json/blob/develop/test/src/unit-udt.cpp) in the test suite, to see a few examples.
+
+If you write your own serializer, you'll need to do a few things:
+
+* use a different `basic_json` alias than `nlohmann::json` (the last template parameter of `basic_json` is the `JSONSerializer`)
+* use your `basic_json` alias (or a template parameter) in all your `to_json`/`from_json` methods
+* use `nlohmann::to_json` and `nlohmann::from_json` when you need ADL
+
+Here is an example, without simplifications, that only accepts types with a size <= 32, and uses ADL.
+
+```cpp
+// You should use void as a second template argument
+// if you don't need compile-time checks on T
+template<typename T, typename SFINAE = typename std::enable_if<sizeof(T) <= 32>::type>
+struct less_than_32_serializer {
+    template <typename BasicJsonType>
+    static void to_json(BasicJsonType& j, T value) {
+        // we want to use ADL, and call the correct to_json overload
+        using nlohmann::to_json; // this method is called by adl_serializer,
+                                 // this is where the magic happens
+        to_json(j, value);
+    }
+
+    template <typename BasicJsonType>
+    static void from_json(const BasicJsonType& j, T& value) {
+        // same thing here
+        using nlohmann::from_json;
+        from_json(j, value);
+    }
+};
+```
+
+Be **very** careful when reimplementing your serializer, you can stack overflow if you don't pay attention:
+
+```cpp
+template <typename T, void>
+struct bad_serializer
+{
+    template <typename BasicJsonType>
+    static void to_json(BasicJsonType& j, const T& value) {
+      // this calls BasicJsonType::json_serializer<T>::to_json(j, value);
+      // if BasicJsonType::json_serializer == bad_serializer ... oops!
+      j = value;
+    }
+
+    template <typename BasicJsonType>
+    static void to_json(const BasicJsonType& j, T& value) {
+      // this calls BasicJsonType::json_serializer<T>::from_json(j, value);
+      // if BasicJsonType::json_serializer == bad_serializer ... oops!
+      value = j.template get<T>(); // oops!
+    }
+};
+```
+
 ### Binary formats (CBOR and MessagePack)
 
 Though JSON is a ubiquitous data format, it is not a very compact format suitable for data exchange, for instance over a network. Hence, the library supports [CBOR](http://cbor.io) (Concise Binary Object Representation) and [MessagePack](http://msgpack.org) to efficiently encode JSON values to byte vectors and to decode such vectors.
@@ -546,7 +766,7 @@ I deeply appreciate the help of the following people.
 - [Eric Cornelius](https://github.com/EricMCornelius) pointed out a bug in the handling with NaN and infinity values. He also improved the performance of the string escaping.
 - [易思龙](https://github.com/likebeta) implemented a conversion from anonymous enums.
 - [kepkin](https://github.com/kepkin) patiently pushed forward the support for Microsoft Visual studio.
-- [gregmarr](https://github.com/gregmarr) simplified the implementation of reverse iterators and helped with numerous hints and improvements.
+- [gregmarr](https://github.com/gregmarr) simplified the implementation of reverse iterators and helped with numerous hints and improvements. In particular, he pushed forward the implementation of user-defined types.
 - [Caio Luppi](https://github.com/caiovlp) fixed a bug in the Unicode handling.
 - [dariomt](https://github.com/dariomt) fixed some typos in the examples.
 - [Daniel Frey](https://github.com/d-frey) cleaned up some pointers and implemented exception-safe memory allocation.
@@ -574,7 +794,7 @@ I deeply appreciate the help of the following people.
 - [duncanwerner](https://github.com/duncanwerner) found a really embarrassing performance regression in the 2.0.0 release.
 - [Damien](https://github.com/dtoma) fixed one of the last conversion warnings.
 - [Thomas Braun](https://github.com/t-b) fixed a warning in a test case.
-- [Théo DELRIEU](https://github.com/theodelrieu) patiently and constructively oversaw the long way toward [iterator-range parsing](https://github.com/nlohmann/json/issues/290).
+- [Théo DELRIEU](https://github.com/theodelrieu) patiently and constructively oversaw the long way toward [iterator-range parsing](https://github.com/nlohmann/json/issues/290). He also implemented the magic behind the serialization/deserialization of user-defined types.
 - [Stefan](https://github.com/5tefan) fixed a minor issue in the documentation.
 - [Vasil Dimov](https://github.com/vasild) fixed the documentation regarding conversions from `std::multiset`.
 - [ChristophJud](https://github.com/ChristophJud) overworked the CMake files to ease project inclusion.
@@ -588,6 +808,9 @@ I deeply appreciate the help of the following people.
 - [Bosswestfalen](https://github.com/Bosswestfalen) merged two iterator classes into a smaller one.
 - [Daniel599](https://github.com/Daniel599) helped to get Travis execute the tests with Clang's sanitizers.
 - [Jonathan Lee](https://github.com/vjon) fixed an example in the README file.
+- [gnzlbg](https://github.com/gnzlbg) supported the implementation of user-defined types.
+- [Alexej Harm](https://github.com/qis) helped to get the user-defined types working with Visual Studio.
+- [Jared Grubb](https://github.com/jaredgrubb) supported the implementation of user-defined types.
 
 Thanks a lot for helping out! Please [let me know](mailto:mail@nlohmann.me) if I forgot someone.
 
@@ -611,10 +834,11 @@ Thanks a lot for helping out! Please [let me know](mailto:mail@nlohmann.me) if I
 To compile and run the tests, you need to execute
 
 ```sh
-$ make check
+$ make json_unit -Ctest
+$ ./test/json_unit "*""
 
 ===============================================================================
-All tests passed (11202040 assertions in 44 test cases)
+All tests passed (11202052 assertions in 47 test cases)
 ```
 
 Alternatively, you can use [CMake](https://cmake.org) and run

doc/Doxyfile

@@ -109,7 +109,7 @@ RECURSIVE              = NO
 EXCLUDE                =
 EXCLUDE_SYMLINKS       = NO
 EXCLUDE_PATTERNS       =
-EXCLUDE_SYMBOLS        = nlohmann::anonymous_namespace
+EXCLUDE_SYMBOLS        = nlohmann::detail
 EXAMPLE_PATH           = examples
 EXAMPLE_PATTERNS       =
 EXAMPLE_RECURSIVE      = NO