obj-repr

This package generates code for a JavaScript expression that evaluates to the provided input value, similar to the repr() function in Python. Compared to JSON and similar serialization solutions, obj-repr has support for the following:

• repeated and circular references
• typed arrays and ArrayBuffer
• bigints
• symbols; symbols with a description are recreated using Symbol.for()
• Map, Set
• Date, RegExp, URL

Under the hood, obj-repr returns code that creates an IIFE which resolves all references and recreates complex objects. It is meant to be used with JavaScript code generators, such as bundlers, when passing data from input options to output files.

The output string is guaranteed to be constant for a given input value in the absence of symbols.

Installation

$ npm install obj-repr

Usage

import repr from 'obj-repr';

let obj = {
  a: 4,
  b: 'hello',
  c: new Set([5, 6])
};

obj.self = obj;

let output = repr(obj);
// => an opaque string of JavaScript

eval(output);
// => <ref *1> {
//   a: 4,
//   b: 'hello',
//   c: Set(2) { 5, 6 },
//   self: [Circular *1]
// }