Write a JSON validator [closed]

Question

Write a program that determines whether its input is valid JSON.

• Input: ASCII text: [\x00-\x7F]*

  Note: if ASCII is problematic, feel free to use another encoding, but indicate it in your post.

• Output: Valid or Invalid. Trailing newline may be omitted.

• Example:

   $ echo '{"key": "value"}' | ./json-validate
   Valid
   $ echo '{key: "value"}' | ./json-validate
   Invalid
  

• Rules:

  • Do not use a JSON parsing library.
  • Partially-correct solutions are allowed, but frowned upon.
  • Post your test suite score (see below).

The shortest correct solution wins.

Please run json-validate-test-suite.sh on your program, and post your score. Example:

$ ./json-validate-test-suite.sh ./buggy-prog
fail: should be invalid:  [ 0.1e ] 
fail: should be invalid:  [ 0.1e+-1 ] 
fail: should be invalid:  [ 0.1e-+1 ] 
score: 297/300

Resources:

• json.org - Concise definition of the JSON grammar with easy-to-follow pictures.
• RFC 4627 - JSON specification
• json-validate.c - A 200-line implementation that passes the testsuite.

---

The JSON grammar is as follows:

json: object | array

object: '{' members? '}'
    members: pair (',' pair)*
    pair:    string ':' value

array: '[' elements? ']'
    elements: value (',' value)*

value: string
     | number
     | object
     | array
     | 'true'
     | 'false'
     | 'null'

string: '"' char* '"'
    char: [^"\\\x00-\x1F]
        | '\' escape
    escape: ["\\/bfnrt]
          | u [0-9A-Fa-f]{4}

number: '-'? (0 | [1-9][0-9]*) ('.' [0-9]+)? ([Ee] [+-]? [0-9]+)?

Also, whitespace can appear before or after any of the six structural characters {}[]:,

ws = [\t\n\r ]*

Bear in mind the following:

• Be careful with functions like isspace(). Whitespace in JSON is [\t\n\r ], but isspace() also treats \v (vertical tab) and \f (form feed) as space. Although word has it that isdigit() can accept more than just [0-9], should be okay to use here, as we assume input is in ASCII.
• \x7F is technically a control character, but the JSON RFC doesn't mention it (it only mentions [\x00-\x1F]), and most JSON parsers tend to accept \x7F characters in strings. Because of this ambiguity, solutions may choose to either accept them or not.

Answer 1

PHP : 297 285 264 253 characters

<?=preg_match(<<<'R'
~([\h
]*)({(?1)((("([^"\\\0- ]| |\\(["\\/bfnrt]|u[\dA-Fa-f]{4}))*")(?1):(?1)((?5)|-?(0|[1-9]\d*)(\.\d+)?([Ee][+-]?\d+)?|(?2)|true|false|null))(((?1),(?1))(?4))*)?}|\[(?1)((?8)((?13)(?8))*)?(?1)])(?1)\z~A
R
,`cat`)?'Valid':'Invalid';

score: 300/300

This is a full, recursive implementation of the JSON grammar.

It works only on PHP ≥ 5.3 due to nowdoc syntax (heredoc would have required to double all \).

Readable version:

(this is the same regex, with named capture groups and extended syntax):

#!/usr/bin/env php
<?php

$re = <<< 'RE'
~\A (?P<ws>[\t\n\r ])* (
    (?P<object>\{ (?P>ws)*
        (?P<members>
            (?P<pair>
                (?P<string>
                    "(?P<char>
                        [^"\\\x00-\x1F]
                        |\\(?P<escape>
                            ["\\/bfnrt]
                            |u [0-9A-Fa-f]{4}
                        )
                    )*"
                ) (?P>ws)* : (?P>ws)* (?P<value>
                    (?P>string)
                    | (?P<number>-? (0 | [1-9][0-9]*) (\. [0-9]+)? ([Ee] [+-]? [0-9]+)? )
                    | (?P>object)
                    | (?P>array)
                    | true
                    | false
                    | null
                )
            ) ( (?P>ws)* , (?P>ws)* (?P>pair) )*
        )?
    \})
    |(?P<array>\[ (?P>ws)*
        (?P<elements>
            (?P>value) ( (?P>ws)* , (?P>ws)* (?P>value) )*
        )?
    (?P>ws)* \])
) (?P>ws)* \z~x
RE;

if (preg_match($re, stream_get_contents(STDIN))) {
    echo 'Valid';
} else {
    echo 'Invalid';
}

Answer 2

Python - 340 314 299 292 chars

import re,os
r=x=re.sub
z=r('0\.0+','0',r('e[+-]?0+|[\t\n\r]',' ',r(r'"(\\["nrtb\\/]|[^\\"\0-\37])*"','1',r(r'true|false|null|\\u\w{4}|[1-9]\d*','0',os.read(0,99)))))
while z!=x:z,x=r('\{(1:\d)?(,\\1)*\}|\[(-?\d(,-?\d)*)?\]','0',r(' *([][{}:,]) *','\\1',z)),z
print['Inv','V'][z=='0']+'alid'

score

$ ./json-validate-test-suite.sh ./codegolf-474.py
score: 300/300

Answer 3

Scala - 390 chars

import scala.util.parsing.combinator.JavaTokenParsers
object J extends JavaTokenParsers{def j=o|a
def o:Parser[Any]="{"~repsep(p,",")~"}"
def p=s~":"~v
def a:Parser[Any]="["~repsep(v,",")~"]"
def v=s|o|a|"true"|"false"|"null"
def s=stringLiteral
def n=floatingPointNumber}
object Main{def main(a:Array[String]){print(if(J.parseAll(J.j,readLine()).successful)"Valid"else"Invalid")}}

This is no-brainer soluton, using parser combinators. Written in 1 or 2 minutes, literally. Cannot get validator script, browser said that server not found.

Answer 4

Bash + jq, 29 bytes

jq -r '"Valid"'||echo Invalid

Try it online!

TIO's bash instance conveniently has jq installed for us so try it online at your leisure!