Question 1

How to extract specific fields from a huge JSON file with JsonSurfer?

Accepted Answer

Use the collector API with JsonPath expressions: create a JsonSurfer instance, define paths like $.store.book[*].author, and collect values incrementally without loading the full file, as shown in the examples. This avoids memory overhead for large datasets.

Question 2

JsonSurfer or Jackson streaming for JSON processing in Java?

Accepted Answer

JsonSurfer builds on Jackson's streaming but adds JsonPath support, making it better for query-based extraction. If you need precise JsonPath expressions, JsonSurfer is more convenient; for raw streaming without queries, Jackson's native API might be simpler.

Question 3

How to use JsonSurfer with Java 8 streams?

Accepted Answer

Convert JsonSurfer's iterator to a Stream: use the iterator method with a compiled JsonPath, then wrap it with StreamSupport for functional operations like map and filter, demonstrated in the Java 8 Streams API section of the README.

Question 4

Does JsonSurfer support JSON schema validation?

Accepted Answer

No, JsonSurfer focuses solely on streaming extraction and JsonPath querying. For schema validation, you'll need to use separate libraries or pre-process the JSON with other tools.

Question 5

How to handle errors in JsonSurfer's event-driven parsing?

Accepted Answer

Implement error handling within your JsonPath listeners or use the parsing context for control. The library provides pause/resume mechanisms, but robust error management requires custom logic, as error handling examples are sparse in the documentation.

Question 6

Can JsonSurfer work with binary formats like Protobuf?

Accepted Answer

Yes, but only with the Jackson parser. You must import Jackson's binary format backends, create a specialized parser instance (e.g., for CBOR), and use it with JsonSurfer, as detailed in the binary format section.

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