JSON Parser Project

Project Overview

This JSON Parser project is an educational exercise in understanding the parsing of JSON (JavaScript Object Notation), a widely used data-interchange format. The parser is developed to handle increasingly complex JSON structures, starting from simple objects to more complex nested objects and arrays.

Features

• Parse simple JSON objects with string keys and values.
• Handle JSON objects containing string, numeric, boolean, and null values.
• Interpret nested JSON objects and arrays.
• Robust error handling to differentiate between valid and invalid JSON structures.

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Python 3.x installed on your system.
• Basic understanding of JSON format and Python programming.

Installation

Clone the repository to your local machine:

git clone https://github.com/xj85770/json-parser

Navigate to the project directory:

cd json-parser

Usage

Run the parser with a JSON file as an argument:

python json_parser.py path/to/jsonfile.json

The parser will output whether the JSON is valid and exit with an appropriate status code (0 for valid, 1 for invalid).

Project Structure

• json_parser.py: The main Python script containing the lexer and parser logic.
• tests/: Directory containing test JSON files categorized by complexity:
  • step1/: Simple JSON objects ({}).
  • step2/: JSON objects with string keys and various value types.
  • step3/: JSON objects including boolean, null, and numeric values.
  • step4/: Complex JSON objects with nested structures.

Development Steps

The parser was developed in incremental steps, each addressing a more complex aspect of JSON parsing:

1. Step 1: Handle empty JSON objects.
2. Step 2: Parse simple JSON objects with string values.
3. Step 3: Extend parsing capabilities to include various data types.
4. Step 4: Implement parsing of nested JSON objects and arrays.

Testing

Each development step includes test files under the tests/ directory. Run the parser against these files to validate its functionality.