bleistift2Jun 30, 2024

Trying to understand JSON…

https://sopuli.xyz/post/14323503

Trying to understand JSON… - Sopuli

Meme transcription: Panel 1. Two images of JSON, one is the empty object, one is an object in which the key name maps to the value null. Caption: “Corporate needs you to find the difference between this picture and this picture” Panel 2. The Java backend dev answers, “They’re the same picture.”

Show threadExcelJun 30, 2024
If you’re branching logic due to the existence or non-existence of a field rather than the value of a field (or treating undefined different from null), I’m going to say you’re the one doing something wrong, not the Java dev.
Show threadsik0fewlJun 30, 2024
Ya, having null semantics is one thing, but having different null and absent/undefined semantics just seems like a bad idea.
Show threadUsernameJun 30, 2024

Not really, if absent means “no change”, present means “update” and null means “delete” the three values are perfectly well defined.

For what it’s worth, Amazon and Microsoft do it like this in their IoT offerings.

Show thread0x0
It gets more fun if we’re talking SQL data via C API: is that 0 a field with 0 value or an actual NULL? Oracle’s Pro*C actually has an entirely different structure or indicator variables just to flag actual NULLs.
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Jul 1, 2024 at 9:43amWeb