Re: [Json] The names within an object SHOULD be unique.

[Vinny A <[e-mail]>]

On Jun 6, 2013, at 10:24 AM, Paul Hoffman <[e-mail]> wrote:
> The new text should use language that is already in RFC 4627; "key" is not such a word. To be fair to implementers, the new document also needs to deal with both emitters and parsers.
> 
> Proposal:
> 
> In Section 2.2:
> Current:
>   The names within an object SHOULD be unique.
> Proposed:
>   If the names within an object are not unique, the result of parsing the 
>   object is unpredictable, and the parse may even fail completely. Thus,
>   the names within an object SHOULD be unique.
> 
> In Section 4, add a new paragraph:
>   If a parser encounters an object with duplicate names, the parser MAY
>   fail to parse the JSON text; if the parser accepts objects with duplicate
>   names, it SHOULD accept only the last name/value pair that has the
>   duplicate name. 

If we have to recommend to both parsers and emitters, I'd like to make a slight change to your wording:

In Section 2.2:
Current:
    The names within an object SHOULD be unique.
Proposed:
   The names within an object SHOULD be unique. Non-unique keys have unpredictable effects (refer to sections 4 & 5).

In Section 4 (Parsers) add a new paragraph:
  If a parser encounters an object with duplicate names, the parser MAY fail to parse the JSON text; if the parser accepts objects with duplicate names, it MUST accept only the last name/value pair that has the duplicate name. 

In Section 5 (Generators) add a new paragraph:
   A JSON generator SHOULD not duplicate names. If duplicate names are generated, the authoritative name/value pair MUST be listed last.

-----------------
Vinny
www.jsontest.com