Json Comparison

General Json Comparison, but includes various features of interest.

Summary

An advanced JSON Comparison tool that takes two strings (JSON strings) as input and outputs a diff result. The diff result includes missing fields, changed(modified) fields, and new(unexpected) fields. By default, a different order is considered a difference. In order to forgive re-ordering, a values or exclude path filters option can assist by providing a path (regex).

Advantages

This project provide a full unique solution for JSON comparison including:

Simple difference result structure divided by type (new, missing and modified fields);
Ability to ignore specific path;
Ability to ignore order difference in particular path;

How Does This Json Comparison Library Offer Value

There is no doubt that many Java projects are dealing with Json comparison, so why do we need another project?

Most existing projects are only suitable for writing tests that compare two JSON inputs. The existing libraries provide assert methods that answer a closed question 'Are the two JSON Strings Equal?' and they may throw an exception when the two inputs are different. This is ideal for test usage. However, these projects make it hard to integrate JSON comparison results into business logic that decision makers depend on. It is also difficult for summaries and reports from comparison results.

Moreover some existing projects do not support features such as 'Ignore Paths' or 'Ignore Order.' As a result, existing tools may be useful for simple use only.

This project provides a full solution for JSON comparison. In particular if you need to integrate and manipulate comparison results into your business logic, this framework will be useful. In addition, if you are looking for comparison that includes advanced features like 'Ignore Paths' and 'Ignore Order,' this framework wll be of value.

Features

Simple difference result structure divided by type ( new, missing and modified fields )
Ability to ignore specific path
Ability to ignore order difference in particular path
The project use the same JSON Comparison Engine as used in https://github.com/skyscreamer/JSONassert

Examples

String expectedJson = "{}";
    String actualJson = "{}";
    
    JsonComparisonResult compareResult = JsonCompare.builder()
        .addFilter(new IgnoredNewValuesFilter(Paths.createRegexPaths("root\\.ignore\\.new\\.field")))
        .addFilter(new IgnoredPathFilter(Paths.createRegexPaths("root\\.ignore\\.path\\..*")))  // .* match the prefix root.ignore.path.value 
        .ignoreOrder(Paths.createRegexPaths("root\\.array"))
        .build()
        .compare(expectedJson, actualJson);

    boolean isMatch = compareResult.isMatch();

Filters

Json Comparison supports 4 kind of filters

Ignore new field/value filter IgnoredNewValueFilter.class - ignore diff on a new field/value (exists in actual JSON only)
Ignore missing/value field filter IgnoredMissingValuesFilter.class - ignore diff on a missing field or value (exists in expected JSON only)
Ignore modified values filter IgnoredModifiedValuesFilter.class - ignore diff on a modified value (exists in actual or expected JSON)
Ignore path filter IgnoredPathFilter.class - ignore diff field or value in both sides

Note: also supports custom Filter

Order

Json Comparison, by default, uses a STRICT mode - all arrays in JSON should preserve order. In order to ignore order use the ignoreOrder option.

Paths

Json Comparison supports Json Path syntax, since Paths are regular expression paths, and backslash is required for an escape character See https://www.vogella.com/tutorials/JavaRegularExpressions/article.html#backslashes-in-java

 Path for secondElement is     
 rootElement\\.secondElement

  {
     "rootElement": {
       "secondElement" : "value"
    }
 }

  Path for first item value in array is
  rootElement\\.array\\[1\\]\\.item.value

    {
        "rootElement": {
           "array": [
              {
                 "item": "value"
              },
              {
                 "item": "value2"
              }
           ]
        }
     }

Path for all elements start with A is
rootElement\\.startWithA.*

 {
     "rootElement": {
        "startWithA1": {
           "item": "value"
        },
        "startWithA2": {
           "item": "value"
        }
     }
  }

Note: Json Comparison always expects a full Path always. If you provide a partial path, then add a suffix .* to match the rest of the path.

Results - CompareJsonResult

Json Comparison returns 3 collections

modifiedFields - fields that have different values
missingFields - fields that are missing in expected JSON
newFields - fields that are extra in expected JSON, but do not exists in actual JSON

QuickStart

To use, download the JAR, or add the following to your project's pom.xml:

     <repository>
          <id>github</id>
          <name>GitHub ebay Apache Maven Packages</name>
          <url>https://maven.pkg.github.com/eBay/json-comparison</url>
        </repository>

    <dependency>
        <groupId>com.json.comparison</groupId>
        <artifactId>json-comparison</artifactId>
        <version>1.2</version>
    </dependency>

Write comparison of two strings:


 JsonComparisonResult compareResult = JsonCompare.builder()
        .build()
        .compare(expectedJson, actualJson);

#New Contributions New contributions from the community are welcome.
Ideas for features that could be implemented by contributors include:

Improve Path syntax
Ability to compare particular path only
Creating GUI for the result

License

Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at

https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0 Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the License.

Notice of 3rd Party Code Use

This project includes code from the open source project(s) listed below.

JSONAssert
==========
URL: https://github.com/skyscreamer/JSONassert
LICENSE: Apache License, found at: https://github.com/skyscreamer/JSONassert/blob/master/LICENSE.txt

eBay / json-comparison