Golang : Marshal and unmarshal json.RawMessage struct example
Golang's json.RawMessage type is a good way to deal with generic JSON objects other than interface{}. There are times when JSON objects have different type of structs but with common identifier such as ID tag, name or type.
In this example, we will learn how to use json.RawMessage
type to handle different struct in the input JSON objects and use switch
statement to handle the different types accordingly.
package main
import (
"encoding/json"
"fmt"
)
type Message struct {
Type string `json:type`
Timestamp string `json:timestamp`
Data json.RawMessage
}
type Event struct {
Type string `json:type`
Creator string `json:creator`
}
type News struct {
Type string `json:type`
Creator string `json:creator`
}
var JSONEventData = []byte(`{
"type": "event",
"data": {
"type": "outdoor",
"creator": "adam"
}}`)
var JSONNewsData = []byte(`{
"type": "news",
"data": {
"type": "indoor",
"creator": "eve"
}}`)
func main() {
var m Message
// unmarshal JSONEventData to message struct
if err := json.Unmarshal(JSONEventData, &m); err != nil {
fmt.Println(err)
}
// uncomment these 3 lines to test different type with JSONNewsData instead of EventData
//if err := json.Unmarshal(JSONNewsData, &m); err != nil {
// fmt.Println(err)
//}
switch m.Type {
case "event":
var e Event
if err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(m.Data), &e); err != nil {
fmt.Println(err)
}
fmt.Printf("JSON type is [%v] and it is [%v] event created by [%v] \n", m.Type, e.Type, e.Creator)
case "news":
var n News
if err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(m.Data), &n); err != nil {
fmt.Println(err)
}
fmt.Printf("JSON type is [%v] and it is [%v] event created by [%v] \n", m.Type, n.Type, n.Creator)
default:
fmt.Println("unable to unmarshal JSON data or differentiate the type")
}
}
Sample output :
JSON type is [event] and it is [outdoor] event created by [adam]
If you are looking for a simpler example on how to marshal and unmarshal json.RawMessage. Here it is :
package main
import (
"encoding/json"
"fmt"
)
type Employee struct {
Id int
Name string
RawMessage *json.RawMessage
}
type Secret struct {
Message string
}
func main() {
sec := Secret{"I love you!"}
byte1, err := json.Marshal(sec)
if err != nil {
fmt.Println(err)
}
raw := json.RawMessage(byte1)
fmt.Printf("Raw Message : %s\n", raw)
emp := Employee{0, "Adam", &raw}
byte2, err := json.Marshal(emp)
if err != nil {
fmt.Println(err)
}
fmt.Printf("Employee's secret message : %s\n", string(byte2))
// -----------------------
// unmarshal json.RawMessage
fmt.Println("------------------------------------")
var e Employee
err = json.Unmarshal(byte2, &e)
if err != nil {
fmt.Println(err)
}
fmt.Printf("emp.Json : %s \n", string(*emp.RawMessage))
var sec2 Secret
err = json.Unmarshal([]byte(*e.RawMessage), &sec2)
if err != nil {
fmt.Println(err)
}
fmt.Printf("Secret Message : %s \n", sec2)
}
Output :
Raw Message : {"Message":"I love you!"}
Employee's secret message : {"Id":0,"Name":"Adam","RawMessage":{"Message":"I love you!"}}
emp.Json : {"Message":"I love you!"}
Secret Message : {I love you!}
References :
https://www.socketloop.com/references/golang-encoding-json-marshal-function-example
See also : Golang : Count JSON objects and convert to slice/array
By Adam Ng
IF you gain some knowledge or the information here solved your programming problem. Please consider donating to the less fortunate or some charities that you like. Apart from donation, planting trees, volunteering or reducing your carbon footprint will be great too.
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