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json/docs/mkdocs/docs/api/basic_json/empty.md
Niels Lohmann 759dd2e1b1 Add json_document and json_view: node index, parser, and document
Add json_document and json_view, a read-only, zero-copy index of a
JSON text, as the first public slice of the zero-copy view (#5295).

A parse produces a flat array of 16-byte nodes in document order,
one per value and one per object key. Strings stay in the source
text; escaped strings are decoded into an arena. Integers are
converted while their digits are in the cache; floats keep only
their digit layout and are converted on read. Containers store the
size of their subtree, so a reader can step over one in constant
time. A document makes a handful of allocations, however many
values it has.

The parser accepts exactly what json::parse accepts, with every
combination of ignore_comments and ignore_trailing_commas, with and
without a trailing NUL, and under JSON_STRICT_NUL_HANDLING. It is
portable C++11 and does not depend on byte order.

basic_json_document adds parse, parse_copy, accept, read (reuses a
document's memory), root, is_discarded, source, owns_source,
node_count, memory_usage, and shrink_to_fit. basic_json_view adds
type, the is_* queries, operator bool, size, empty, materialize,
and source_offset. A parse error throws the same exception
basic_json::parse would throw for the same input, message and
position included.

detail::abi_config keeps JSON_STRICT_NUL_HANDLING and
JSON_USE_LEGACY_DISCARDED_VALUE_COMPARISON readable after json.hpp
undefines them, in the ABI namespace so they always match the
basic_json in use.

A NUL byte that ends a // comment is the end of the input, as in
parse() since #5696.

Signed-off-by: Niels Lohmann <mail@nlohmann.me>
2026-10-07 16:42:22 +02:00

1.9 KiB

nlohmann::basic_json::empty

bool empty() const noexcept;

Checks if a JSON value has no elements (i.e., whether its size() is 0).

Return value

The return value depends on the different types and is defined as follows:

Value type return value
null #!cpp true
boolean #!cpp false
string #!cpp false
number #!cpp false
binary #!cpp false
object result of function object_t::empty()
array result of function array_t::empty()

Exception safety

No-throw guarantee: this function never throws exceptions.

Complexity

Constant, as long as array_t and object_t satisfy the Container concept; that is, their empty() functions have constant complexity.

Possible implementation

bool empty() const noexcept
{
    return size() == 0;
}

Notes

This function does not return whether a string stored as JSON value is empty -- it returns whether the JSON container itself is empty which is #!cpp false in the case of a string.

Examples

??? example

The following code uses `empty()` to check if a JSON object contains any elements.

```cpp
--8<-- "examples/empty.cpp"
```

Output:

```json
--8<-- "examples/empty.output"
```

See also

  • size returns the number of elements
  • clear clears the content and resets the value to the default value
  • basic_json_view::empty - the same check on a zero-copy view

Version history

  • Added in version 1.0.0.
  • Extended to return #!cpp false for binary types in version 3.8.0.