ArduinoJSON – Efficient JSON serialization for embedded C++
What is ArduinoJson?
ArduinoJSON is decode JSON document and extract the information you want to display on the screen. So, it eats a JSON document and allows your program to extract the information you want.
Extracting information from a JSON document is what we call “deserialization.” Of course, ArduinoJson also knows how to perform the reverse operation, the “serialization,” which generates a JSON document. But that’s not all, ArduinoJson also supports the MessagePack format, an alternative to JSON that produces smaller documents.
Of course, ArduinoJson is not limited to weather stations. You can use ArduinoJson to simplify virtually any program that needs to connect to a web service (Twitter, Facebook, GitHub, etc). You can also use ArduinoJson to serialize configuration files, exchange information between boards…
ArduinoJson was created and is maintained by Benoît Blanchon, an experienced C++ developer who, like you, enjoys playing with electronics from time to time.
Benoît lives in France and has a Master’s degree from the Institut Supérieur d’Electronique de Paris. He works as software developer, but he developed ArduinoJson on his personal time.
Benoît created other successful open source software, the most famous being Winpooch which was a precursor to Windows Defender. He regularly writes in his blog “Good Code Smell”. He also created the websites meaningful.ly and Minymox.
ArduinoJson represents the best compromise between ease-of-use, efficiency, and portability.
It’s easy to use because you just need a few lines of code to do the work; there is very little ceremony compared to other libraries. Moreover, it leverages all C++ features to offer an elegant syntax to manipulate JSON documents.
It’s efficient because it’s designed to work on small microcontrollers, like the ones in Arduino boards. Indeed, you don’t program a microcontroller with 2KB of RAM the same way you program a PC with 32GB of RAM. Different problems require different solutions.
It’s portable because it works on any platform: Arduino, of course, but also on ESP8266, on ESP32… Yes! You can also use ArduinoJson on a PC, whether it’s Windows, macOS, or Linux. Does that sound silly after what you just read? On the contrary, being able to compile ArduinoJson on a PC allows running unit tests on your desktop machine before deploying to the microcontroller.
Why is ArduinoJson efficient ?
“Efficient” means it uses fewer resources to do the same work.
- RAM
- CPU cycles
- Program Memory
ArduinoJson uses less RAM because it avoids copies when possible. Indeed, you don’t want the same information to be present several times in memory, that would be a terrible use of the RAM.
ArduinoJson uses fewer CPU cycles because it uses an optimized memory allocator. It can even work exclusively with stack memory, allowing to run on devices with very little memory.
ArduinoJson compiles to a small executable, leaving plenty of room for your program. Indeed, you’ll see that after including two or three libraries in your Arduino sketch, the program memory becomes very scarce.
How to install ArduinoJson.h ?
Option 1: Use the Arduino Library Manager
Recommendation: Use this method if you use Arduino 1.6.x or newer.
Instructions:
- Open the Arduino Library Manager
- Search for “ArduinoJson”
- Select the version: 5.13.5
- Click install.
Option 2: Download the single header
Recommendation: Use this method if you don’t use Arduino.
Instructions:
- Download ArduinoJson-v5.13.5.h
- Save the file alongside with your
.cppfiles
Option 3: Clone the repository
Recommendation: Use this method if you want to make a Pull Request or use features that have not been released yet.
Instructions:
- Run the command
git clone https://github.com/bblanchon/ArduinoJson.git - Configure your compiler to add the folder
ArduinoJson/src/to the list of include folders (-I /path/to/ArduinoJson/src/on GCC command line)
How to Use
Check out these Examples: JsonParser.ino, JsonGenerator.ino
Visit this : ESP8266 Parsing JSON
If you are not friendly with NodeMCU using Arduino IDE, Visit this: Arduino Support for ESP8266 with simple test code
Recommended: GPIO pins of ESP8266 and How to use efficiently
Recommended: NodeMCU ESP8266 OTA (Over-the-Air) using Arduino IDE
I hope you like this post “ArduinoJSON”. Do you have any questions? Leave a comment down below!
Thanks for reading. If you like this post probably you might like my next ones, so please support me by subscribing my blog.
We have other tutorials with ESP32 that you may find useful:
- Dynamic WLAN configuration for ESP32 Board | AutoConnect
- ArduinoOTA ESP32: Wi-Fi (OTA) Wireless Update from the Arduino IDE
- ESP32 with LoRa using Arduino IDE
- How To Use Grove-LCD RGB Backlight with NodeMCU
- NodeMcu to DHT Interface in Blynk app
- How To ON/OFF a bulb by Google voice assistant
- Arduino IDE | Arduino | Open Source Hardware/Softawre | Arduino Vs RPi
- WiFi LoRA 32 (V2) ESP32 | Overview | Introduction
- DHT11 sensor with ESP8266/NodeMCU using Arduino IDE
- Arduino Support for ESP8266 with simple test code
You may like also:
