"location" : null // this is not really an array it's a null object
"location" : [] // this is an empty array
It looks like this API returns null when there is no location defined - instead of returning an empty array, not too unusual really - but they should tell you if they're going to do this.
Answer from Matt Varblow on Stack Overflow Top answer 1 of 3
44
"location" : null // this is not really an array it's a null object
"location" : [] // this is an empty array
It looks like this API returns null when there is no location defined - instead of returning an empty array, not too unusual really - but they should tell you if they're going to do this.
2 of 3
28
null is a legal value (and reserved word) in JSON, but some environments do not have a "NULL" object (as opposed to a NULL value) and hence cannot accurately represent the JSON null. So they will sometimes represent it as an empty array.
Whether null is a legal value in that particular element of that particular API is entirely up to the API designer.
OutSystems
outsystems.com › forums › discussion › 75599 › how-to-send-a-empty-array-to-json-request-to-the-api
How to send a empty array to JSON request to the API? | OutSystems
How to send a empty array to JSON request to the API?
What to return if a collection is empty?
What should be returned when an empty collection is queried? a hash with an empty array? example 1 GET /photos HTTP/1.1 200 OK Content-Type: application/json { "photos": [] } example 2 GE... More on github.com
14
May 27, 2013How to assert json with empty array
The following paste contains data returned by our API. { "result": "OK", "sysStatisticsReport": null, "sysStatisticsData": { "sysDataStatisticsList": [{ "RLibID":"x400410000", "sysDataDetails": [] }, { "RLibID":"x872690000", "sysDataDetails": [] }, { "RLibID":"x871710000", "sysDataDetails": ... More on community.postman.com
0
0
June 29, 2020Best Practices to send for Empty Values of a JSON API?
On July 1st, a change to Reddit's API pricing will come into effect. Several developers of commercial third-party apps have announced that this change will compel them to shut down their apps. At least one accessibility-focused non-commercial third party app will continue to be available free of charge. If you want to express your strong disagreement with the API pricing change or with Reddit's response to the backlash, you may want to consider the following options: Limiting your involvement with Reddit, or Temporarily refraining from using Reddit Cancelling your subscription of Reddit Premium as a way to voice your protest. I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns. More on reddit.com
16
16
April 22, 2024An empty array in JSON configuration file results in a null value in the configuration object
The keys from option 1 and 3 could also just always be present if the key path was present in JSON, even if it isn't an empty array. So then the corresponding keys could be added. For example, a value of `[ "One", "Two" ] would emit "SomeConfiguration:SomeArray:[]" = null, "SomeConfigurati... More on github.com
2
February 7, 202503:06
07 Arrays in JSON – Representing ordered lists of values - YouTube
10:07
I was checking for empty Arrays wrong... | How to check for an ...
02:34
Empty Array in JavaScript: Learn with Practical Code Examples - ...
Mastering O(1) Complexity: Check If an Object or Array is ...
02:08
Null arrays with the jq JSON processor - YouTube
Top answer 1 of 3
11
Assuming to be placed in a variable, because you have 'json' tagged. The following is some explanation of each step of a simple example breakdown:
// create an empty array
var array = [];
// create an object with properties "id", "action" with mock values
var object = {
id: "1",
action: "shout"
}
// add object to array
array.push(object);
// create encode json string
var myJSONString = JSON.stringify(array);
Hope this helps.
2 of 3
3
Do you mean this?
JSON.stringify({
id: null,
action: null
})
Laracasts
laracasts.com › discuss › channels › laravel › output-empty-arrays-and-objects-in-json
Output Empty Arrays and Objects in JSON
I'm developing an API and need to be able to output empty arrays and objects in the returned JSON. However, I'm running into a problem where empty objects/dicts are returned as empty arrays. Example Request Body: { "attributes": { "empty_array": [], "empty_object": {} } } Actual Response: { ...
Jitterbit
community.jitterbit.com › s › question › 0D54X00007NjTiLSAV › creating-an-empty-array-in-a-json-target
Creating an empty array in a JSON target
March 3, 2022 - Loading · ×Sorry to interrupt · Refresh
GitHub
github.com › json-api › json-api › issues › 101
What to return if a collection is empty? · Issue #101 · json-api/json-api
May 27, 2013 - example 4: HTTP/1.1 200 OK Content-Type: application/json { "meta": { "client-ids": true } } I think a hash with an empty array is probably less likely to cause surprises and would be happy to provide a patch if you agree. Reactions are currently unavailable ·
Author: json-api
JSON for Modern C++
json.nlohmann.me › api › basic_json › empty
empty - JSON for Modern C++
#include <iostream> #include ... = 23.42; json j_object = {{"one", 1}, {"two", 2}}; json j_object_empty(json::value_t::object); json j_array = {1, 2, 4, 8, 16}; json j_array_empty(json::value_t::array); json j_string = "Hello, world"; // call empty() std::cout << ...
Postman
community.postman.com › help hub
How to assert json with empty array - Help Hub - Postman Community
The following paste contains data returned by our API. { "result": "OK", "sysStatisticsReport": null, "sysStatisticsData": { "sysDataStatisticsList": [{ "RLibID":"x400410000", …
Published: June 29, 2020
Reddit
reddit.com › r/learnprogramming › best practices to send for empty values of a json api?
r/learnprogramming on Reddit: Best Practices to send for Empty Values of a JSON API?
April 22, 2024 -
What do you choose? Getting lots of conflicting answers.
-
Null
-
Undefined (Omitted from JSON)
-
Empty of that type?
-
String = ""
-
Number = 0
-
Boolean = false
-
Array = []
-
Object = {}
-
CMS JSON API to be consumed by JS Framework Frontend
Top answer 1 of 7
8
Depends on the value and context. I'd use "null" if there's no appropriate value found but we don't consider it enough of an error to send a bad request/internal error back to the client. But if, for example, the request was searching for a list of people assigned to a given project and the answer was no people are assigned to that given project, I'd return an empty array. Generally I'd avoid situations where "null" makes sense, as I'd often consider "null" value meaning that it's a partial response or that something that maybe should be initialized has not been initialized. In my opinion the more you can avoid situations where you have data that is uninitialized, undefined, or so on, the better.
2 of 7
3
https://i.stack.imgur.com/T9M2J.png Depends on the value. If you have a dateRange object with start and end... but the end is not defined, then you can't really put any other value than null into it. A numeric value and initializing it to 0 if it is missing could change the meaning as well - maxSize - setting it to a positive value is OK... setting it to 0 could mean that it must be 0 or negative. Setting it negative doesn't make sense either - has to be less than that. Null would make sense that there is no size requirement. You could have this in a search parameter or something. Same could be said about most other things - strings etc.
IBM
ibm.com › docs › en › baw › 19.0.0
Handling JSON null and empty arrays and objects
August 11, 2022 - Handling null and empty arrays and objects used in JSON data is described.
JSON FYI
jsonfyi.com › home › learn › json arrays — syntax, examples, and common mistakes
JSON arrays — syntax, examples, and common mistakes
April 27, 2026 - A JSON array is an ordered list of values wrapped in square brackets and separated by commas — for example ["a", "b", "c"]. Arrays are zero-indexed, may hold any mix of JSON types (strings, numbers, booleans, null, objects, or other arrays), may be empty ([]), and must not have a trailing comma after the last element.
JSON for Modern C++
json.nlohmann.me › api › basic_json › array
array - JSON for Modern C++
This function is only needed to ... (basic_json(initializer_list_t, bool, value_t)). These cases are: creating an array whose elements are all pairs whose first element is a string -- in this case, the initializer list constructor would create an object, taking the first elements as keys · creating an empty array -- passing the empty initializer list to the initializer list constructor yields an empty object ... The following code shows an example for the array ...
Medium
medium.com › swlh › arrays-and-json-in-go-98540f2fa74e
Handling Null JSON Arrays in Go. How to handle nil slices when encoding… | by Steven Nguyen | The Startup | Medium
July 12, 2020 - encoding/json: “nonil” struct tag to marshal nil slices and maps as non-null · But, as of this writing, these proposals have not been accepted. As such, in order to overcome the problem of null arrays, we have to set nil slices to empty slices.
Jitterbit
community.jitterbit.com › s › question › 0D54X00007NjTiLSAV
JB Customer
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Medium
jyotishgher.medium.com › empty-jsonissue-in-json-request-e3ebbd79644e
Empty Array Issue in JSON Request | by www.jyotishgher.in | Medium
February 14, 2025 - The “empty array issue” in JSON requests usually refers to a situation where your server-side code (e.g., in PHP, Python, Node.js, etc.) is receiving an empty array ([]) in the request body when you expect it to contain data.
GitHub
github.com › dotnet › extensions › issues › 5858
An empty array in JSON configuration file results in a null value in the configuration object · Issue #5858 · dotnet/extensions
February 7, 2025 - So then the corresponding keys could be added. For example, a value of `[ "One", "Two" ] would emit "SomeConfiguration:SomeArray:[]" = null, "SomeConfiguration:SomeArray:0" = "One" and "SomeConfiguration:SomeArray:1" = "Two".
Author: dotnet
Top answer 1 of 2
6
If you want to have empty space in JSON, you should fill it with null.
Example:
var pattern = [ ["C5", 3], null, null, null, null, null, null, null, ["C5", 3], null, null, null, null, ...... ]
2 of 2
4
If you don't want to use null with a sparse array, you could use the object representation of an array.
pattern = [["C5", 3], , , , , , , , ["C5", 3], , , ]
... would be replaced by an object with index value as properties and an additional length property:
parse_array = {
0: ["C5", 3],
8: ["C5", 3],
length: 12
}
This object can be generated from the array using its reduce method:
parse_array = pattern.reduce( ( obj, val, i ) =>
{
obj.length++
if ( val )
obj[i] = val
return obj
}, { length: 0 } )
Then it's easy to convert the object into a JavaScript Array, using a simple arrow function:
pattern = Array.from( parse_array, v => v )
//Encode array
var pattern = [["C5",3],null,null,null,null,null,null,null,["C5",3],null,null,null]
out.innerHTML = JSON.stringify( pattern ) + "\n"
var parse1 = pattern.reduce( ( obj, val, i ) =>
{
obj.length++
if ( val )
obj[i] = val
return obj
}, { length } )
out.innerHTML += JSON.stringify( parse1 ) + "\n"
//Decode object
var parse2 = {
0: ["C5", 3],
8: ["C5", 3],
length: 12
}
out.innerHTML += JSON.stringify( parse2 ) + "\n"
out.innerHTML += JSON.stringify( Array.from( parse2, v => v ) ) + "\n"<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8" />
<title></title>
</head>
<body>
<h3>JSON array with empty items</h3>
<pre id="out"></pre>
</body>
</html>GitHub
github.com › nlohmann › json › issues › 27
Creating an empty array · Issue #27 · nlohmann/json
January 13, 2015 - json customers; for (...) { customers.push_back(...) } cout << customers; However, if the for loop doesnt happen, I would like to return an empty array (eg []) Is they an other way to get this behaviour without doing json customers= json::parse("[]"); ? Reactions are currently unavailable ·
Author: nlohmann
Top answer 1 of 5
55
If the array is defined in the file but is empty, like:
...
"kl":[]
...
Then getJSONArray("kl") will return an empty array, but the object is not null. Then, if you do this:
kl = c.getJSONArray("kl");
if(kl != null){
klassenID[i] = kl.getJSONObject(0).getString("id");
}
kl is not null and kl.getJSONObject(0) will throw an exception - there is no first element in the array.
Instead you can check the length(), e.g.:
kl = c.getJSONArray("kl");
if(kl != null && kl.length() > 0 ){
klassenID[i] = kl.getJSONObject(0).getString("id");
}
2 of 5
1
You can also use isEmpty() method, this is the method we use to check whether the list is empty or not. This method returns a Boolean value. It returns true if the list is empty otherwise it gives false. For example:
if (!k1.isEmpty()) {
klassenID[i] = kl.getJSONObject(0).getString("id");
}