README.md 7.7 KB

CSON

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CoffeeScript-Object-Notation Parser. Same as JSON but for CoffeeScript objects.

Projects using CSON.

Install

NPM

  • Use: require('cson')
  • Install: npm install --save cson

What is CSON?

Everyone knows JSON, it's the thing that looks like this:

{
	"abc": [
		"a",
		"b",
		"c"
	],
	"a": {
		"b": "c"
	}
}

But with the invention of CoffeeScript you can also write the same thing in CSON which looks like this:

{
	# an array
	abc: [
		'a'
		'b'
		'c'
	]

	# an object
	a:
		b: 'c'
}

Which is far more lenient than JSON, way nicer to write and read, no need to quote everything, has comments and readable multi-line strings, and won't fail if you forget a comma.

Using CSON

  • With Node.js in JavaScript

    // Include CSON
    CSON = require('cson');
    
    // Parse a file path
    CSON.parseFile('data.cson', function(err,obj){});  // async
    result = CSON.parseFileSync('data.cson');  // sync
    
    // Parse a String
    CSON.parse(src, function(err,obj){});  // async
    result = CSON.parseSync(src);  // sync
    
    // Stringify an object to CSON
    CSON.stringify(obj, function(err,str){});  // async
    result = CSON.stringifySync(obj);  // sync
    
    • With Node.js in CoffeeScript
    # Include CSON
    CSON = require('cson')
    
    # Parse a file path
    CSON.parseFile 'data.cson', (err,obj) ->  # async
    result = CSON.parseFileSync('data.cson')  # sync
    
    # Parse a string
    CSON.parse src, (err,obj) ->  # async
    result = CSON.parseSync(src)  # sync
    
    # Stringify an object to CSON
    CSON.stringify data, (err,str) ->  # async
    result = CSON.stringifySync(obj)  # sync
    
    
    - Via the command line (requires a global installation of CSON via `npm install -g cson`)
    
    ``` bash
    # JSON file to CSON String
    json2cson filePath > out.cson
    
    # CSON file to JSON String
    cson2json filePath > out.json
    

Use Case

CSON is fantastic for developers writing their own configuration to be executed on their own machines, but bad for configuration you can't trust. This is because parsing CSON will execute the CSON input as CoffeeScript code (making it unsafe, so while true would work) but it does so inside a node virtual machine for isolation (making it secure, so require('fs') won't work) resulting in the evaluated JavaScript object. This is a non-issue for the only use case which CSON actually makes sense for (developers writing their own configuration to be executed on their own machines). Issue #32 has more information.

History

Discover the change history by heading on over to the HISTORY.md file.

Contribute

Discover how you can contribute by heading on over to the CONTRIBUTING.md file.

Backers

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License

Licensed under the incredibly permissive MIT license

Copyright © 2012+ Bevry Pty Ltd us@bevry.me (http://bevry.me)
Copyright © 2011 Benjamin Lupton b@lupton.cc (http://balupton.com)