codable

A library for encoding and decoding dynamic data into Dart objects.

Basic Usage

Data objects extend Coding:

class Person extends Coding {
  String name;

  @override
  void decode(KeyedArchive object) {
    // must call super
    super.decode(object);

    name = object.decode("name");   
  }

  @override
  void encode(KeyedArchive object) {
    object.encode("name", name);
  }
}

An object that extends Coding can be read from JSON:

final json = json.decode(...);
final archive = KeyedArchive.unarchive(json);
final person = Person()..decode(archive);

Objects that extend Coding may also be written to JSON:

final person = Person()..name = "Bob";
final archive = KeyedArchive.archive(person);
final json = json.encode(archive);

Coding objects can encode or decode other Coding objects, including lists of Coding objects and maps where Coding objects are values. You must provide a closure that instantiates the Coding object being decoded.

class Team extends Coding {

  List<Person> members;
  Person manager;

  @override
  void decode(KeyedArchive object) {
    super.decode(object); // must call super

    members = object.decodeObjects("members", () => Person());
    manager = object.decodeObject("manager", () => Person());
  }

  @override
  void encode(KeyedArchive object) {
    object.encodeObject("manager", manager);
    object.encodeObjects("members", members);
  }
}

Dynamic Type Casting

Types with primitive type arguments (e.g., List<String> or Map<String, int>) are a particular pain point when decoding. Override castMap in Coding to perform type coercion. You must import package:codable/cast.dart as cast and prefix type names with cast.

import 'package:codable/cast.dart' as cast;
class Container extends Coding {  
  List<String> things;

  @override
  Map<String, cast.Cast<dynamic>> get castMap => {
    "things": cast.List(cast.String)
  };
  

  @override
  void decode(KeyedArchive object) {
    super.decode(object);

    things = object.decode("things");
  }

  @override
  void encode(KeyedArchive object) {
    object.encode("things", things);
  }
}

Document References

Coding objects may be referred to multiple times in a document without duplicating their structure. An object is referenced with the $key key. For example, consider the following JSON:

{
  "components": {
    "thing": {
      "name": "The Thing"
    }    
  },
  "data": {
    "$ref": "#/components/thing"
  }
}

In the above, the decoded value of data inherits all properties from /components/thing:

{
  "$ref": "#/components/thing",
  "name": "The Thing"
}

You may create references in your in-memory data structures through the Coding.referenceURI.

final person = Person()..referenceURI = Uri(path: "/teams/engineering/manager");

The above person is encoded as:

{
  "$ref": "#/teams/engineering/manager"
}

You may have cyclical references.

See the specification for JSON Schema and the $ref keyword for more details.