Why is the input modified?

The JSON parser works in two different modes, depending on whether the input is read-only or not.

Mode 1: read-only input

The read-only mode is used when the JSON input has one of the following types:

  1. const char *
  2. std::string
  3. std::istream
  4. String
  5. Stream
  6. const __FlashStringHelper*

In this mode, the parser copies relevant pieces of the input in the JsonBuffer.

Examples:

const char* json = "{\"hello\":\"world\"}";
jsonBuffer.parseObject(json);

String json = "{\"hello\":\"world\"}";
jsonBuffer.parseObject(json);

Mode 2: zero-copy

The zero-copy mode is used when the JSON input has one of the following types:

  1. char*
  2. char[]

In this mode, the JSON parser modifies the input in-place. The following modifications are performed:

  1. '\0' are inserted at the end of each string
  2. Escaped special characters (like \n) are unescaped

Example:

char[] json = "{\"hello\":\"world\"}";
jsonBuffer.parseObject(json);

After executing the line above, the input variable probably contains something like: "hello\0world\0".