C++ JSON Serialization

There is no reflection in C++. True. But if the compiler can’t provide you the metadata you need, you can provide it yourself.

Let’s start by making a property struct:

template<typename Class, typename T>
struct PropertyImpl {
    constexpr PropertyImpl(T Class::*aMember, const char* aName) : member{aMember}, name{aName} {}

    using Type = T;

    T Class::*member;
    const char* name;
};

template<typename Class, typename T>
constexpr auto property(T Class::*member, const char* name) {
    return PropertyImpl<Class, T>{member, name};
}

Of course, you also can have a property that takes a setter and getter instead of a pointer to member, and maybe read only properties for calculated value you’d like to serialize. If you use C++17, you can extend it further to make a property that works with lambdas.

Ok, now we have the building block of our compile-time introspection system.

Now in your class Dog, add your metadata:

struct Dog {
    std::string barkType;
    std::string color;
    int weight = 0;
    
    bool operator==(const Dog& rhs) const {
        return std::tie(barkType, color, weight) == std::tie(rhs.barkType, rhs.color, rhs.weight);
    }
    
    constexpr static auto properties = std::make_tuple(
        property(&Dog::barkType, "barkType"),
        property(&Dog::color, "color"),
        property(&Dog::weight, "weight")
    );
};

We will need to iterate on that list. To iterate on a tuple, there are many ways, but my preferred one is this:

template <typename T, T... S, typename F>
constexpr void for_sequence(std::integer_sequence<T, S...>, F&& f) {
    using unpack_t = int[];
    (void)unpack_t{(static_cast<void>(f(std::integral_constant<T, S>{})), 0)..., 0};
}

If C++17 fold expressions are available in your compiler, then for_sequence can be simplified to:

template <typename T, T... S, typename F>
constexpr void for_sequence(std::integer_sequence<T, S...>, F&& f) {
    (static_cast<void>(f(std::integral_constant<T, S>{})), ...);
}

This will call a function for each constant in the integer sequence.

If this method don’t work or gives trouble to your compiler, you can always use the array expansion trick.

Now that you have the desired metadata and tools, you can iterate through the properties to unserialize:

// unserialize function
template<typename T>
T fromJson(const Json::Value& data) {
    T object;

    // We first get the number of properties
    constexpr auto nbProperties = std::tuple_size<decltype(T::properties)>::value;
    
    // We iterate on the index sequence of size `nbProperties`
    for_sequence(std::make_index_sequence<nbProperties>{}, [&](auto i) {
        // get the property
        constexpr auto property = std::get<i>(T::properties);

        // get the type of the property
        using Type = typename decltype(property)::Type;

        // set the value to the member
        // you can also replace `asAny` by `fromJson` to recursively serialize
        object.*(property.member) = Json::asAny<Type>(data[property.name]);
    });

    return object;
}

And for serialize:

template<typename T>
Json::Value toJson(const T& object) {
    Json::Value data;

    // We first get the number of properties
    constexpr auto nbProperties = std::tuple_size<decltype(T::properties)>::value;
    
    // We iterate on the index sequence of size `nbProperties`
    for_sequence(std::make_index_sequence<nbProperties>{}, [&](auto i) {
        // get the property
        constexpr auto property = std::get<i>(T::properties);

        // set the value to the member
        data[property.name] = object.*(property.member);
    });

    return data;
}

If you want recursive serialization and unserialization, you can replace asAny by fromJson.

Now you can use your functions like this:

Dog dog;

dog.color = "green";
dog.barkType = "whaf";
dog.weight = 30;

Json::Value jsonDog = toJson(dog); // produces {"color":"green", "barkType":"whaf", "weight": 30}
auto dog2 = fromJson<Dog>(jsonDog);

std::cout << std::boolalpha << (dog == dog2) << std::endl; // pass the test, both dog are equal!

Done! No need for run-time reflection, just some C++14 goodness!

This code could benefit from some improvement, and could of course work with C++11 with some adjustments.

Note that one would need to write the asAny function. It’s just a function that takes a Json::Value and call the right as... function, or another fromJson.

Here’s a complete, working example made from the various code snippet of this answer. Feel free to use it.

As mentioned in the comments, this code won’t work with msvc. Please refer to this question if you want a compatible code: Pointer to member: works in GCC but not in VS2015