How Can You Test JSON Objects Ignoring Child Order?

Testing Equivalence of JSON Objects Disregarding Child Order

When testing JSON data returned from web services, it's essential to have a JSON parsing library capable of comparing two JSON objects while ignoring the order of child elements. This is crucial for unit testing, ensuring that the JSON content matches the expected format without relying on specific child ordering.

JSONAssert: An Effective Solution

Amongst various JSON libraries, Skyscreamer's JSONAssert stands out for its ability to compare JSON objects while disregarding child order. Its non-strict mode offers the following benefits:

• Object extensibility: An expected value like {id:1} would match {id:1,moredata:'x'}.
• Loose array ordering: Arrays like ['dog','cat'] and ['cat','dog'] would be considered equal.

Example Usage

To use JSONAssert, a test method could be written as follows:

<code class="java">@Test
public void testGetFriends() {
    JSONObject data = getRESTData("/friends/367.json");
    String expected = "{friends:[{id:123,name:\"Corby Page\"}"
        + ",{id:456,name:\"Solomon Duskis\"}]}";
    JSONAssert.assertEquals(expected, data, false);
}</code>

In this example, expectedJSONString is the expected JSON, actualDataString is the actual JSON, and isStrict is set to false to enable non-strict mode.

Conclusion

JSONAssert provides a robust solution for testing JSON objects while ignoring child order. Its non-strict mode offers flexibility and accuracy, reducing the brittleness of unit tests.

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