Skip to main content
Version: Latest-3.2

json_length

Description​

Returns the length of a JSON document. If a path is specified, this function returns the length of the value identified by the path.

The length of a document is determined according to the following rules:

  • The length of a scalar value is 1. For example, the length of 1, "a", true, false, and null is 1.

  • The length of an array is the number of array elements. For example, the length of [1, 2] is 2.

  • The length of an object is the number of object members. For example, the length of {"a": 1} is 1.

  • The length of nested arrays or objects does not count. For example, the length of {"a": [1, 2]} is 1, because the nested array [1, 2] is not calculated into length.

Syntax​

json_length(json_doc[, path])

Parameters​

json_doc: required, the JSON document for which to return the length.

path: optional. It is used to return the length of a value within the document. The path generally starts with $ and uses . as the path separator. [] is used as the array subscript, which starts from 0.

Return value​

Returns a value of the INT type.

An error is returned if the JSON document is not a valid document.

0 is returned in any of the following scenarios:

  • The path does not identify a value in the document.

  • The path is not a valid path expression.

  • The path contains the * or ** wildcard.

Examples​

Example 1: Return the length of a scalar value.

select json_length('1');
+------------------+
| json_length('1') |
+------------------+
|                1 |
+------------------+

Example 2: Return the length of an empty object.

select json_length('{}');
+-------------------+
| json_length('{}') |
+-------------------+
|                 0 |
+-------------------+

Example 3: Return the length of an object that has data.

select json_length('{"Name": "Homer"}');
+----------------------------------+
| json_length('{"Name": "Homer"}') |
+----------------------------------+
|                                1 |
+----------------------------------+

Example 4: Return the length of a JSON array.

select json_length('[1, 2, 3]');
+--------------------------+
| json_length('[1, 2, 3]') |
+--------------------------+
|                        3 |
+--------------------------+

Example 5: Return the length of a JSON array in which one element has a nested array.

The nested array [3, 4] is not calculated into length.

select json_length('[1, 2, [3, 4]]');
+-------------------------------+
| json_length('[1, 2, [3, 4]]') |
+-------------------------------+
|                             3 |
+-------------------------------+

Example 6: Return the length of an object specified by path $.Person.

SET @file = '{  
    "Person": {    
       "Name": "Homer", 
       "Age": 39,
       "Hobbies": ["Eating", "Sleeping"]  
    }
 }';
select json_length(@file, '$.Person') 'Result';

Example 7: Return the length of the value specified by path $.y.

select json_length('{"x": 1, "y": [1, 2]}', '$.y');
+---------------------------------------------+
| json_length('{"x": 1, "y": [1, 2]}', '$.y') |
+---------------------------------------------+
|                                           2 |
+---------------------------------------------+