SQL Server JSON_OBJECT() Function

Summary: in this tutorial, you will learn how to use the SQL Server JSON_OBJECT() function to create a string that contains a JSON object from a list of key/value pairs.

Introduction to the SQL Server JSON_OBJECT() function

The JSON_OBJECT() creates a JSON object string from a list of key/value pairs.

Here’s the basic syntax of the JSON_OBJECT() function:

JSON_OBJECT(key1:value1 [json_null_clause], key2:value2 [json_null_clause], ...)Code language: SQL (Structured Query Language) (sql)

In this syntax:

key1:value1, key2:value2… are key values of the result JSON object.
json_null_clause option determines how the JSON_OBJECT function works when the value1, value2, and so on is NULL.

The json_Null_clause accepts NULL ON NULL or ABSENT ON NULL:

NULL ON NULL: The JSON_OBECT() function converts NULL in SQL into a JSON null value when generating the JSON value.
ABSENT ON NULL: THe JSON_OBJECT() function omits the entire key if the value is NULL.

By default, the json_Null_clause is NULL on NULL.

The JSON_OBJECT() function returns a valid JSON object with the type NVARCHAR(MAX).

SQL Server JSON_OBJECT() function examples

Let’s take some examples of using the JSON_OBJECT() function.

1) Basic JSON_OBJECT() function examples

The following example uses the JSON_OBJECT() function to create an empty JSON object:

SELECT JSON_OBJECT() result;Code language: SQL (Structured Query Language) (sql)

Output:

result
------
{}Code language: SQL (Structured Query Language) (sql)

The following example uses the JSON_OBJECT() function to create a JSON object with three key/value pairs:

SELECT 
  JSON_OBJECT(
    'name' : 'John', 'age' : 22, 'job' : 'DBA'
  ) employee;Code language: SQL (Structured Query Language) (sql)

Output:

employee
------------------------------------
{"name":"John","age":22,"job":"DBA"}Code language: SQL (Structured Query Language) (sql)

2) Using the JSON_OBJECT() function with NULL

The following example uses the JSON_OBJECT() function to create an object from values that contain NULL:

SELECT 
  JSON_OBJECT(
    'name' : 'John', 'age' : 22, 'job' : NULL
  ) employee;Code language: SQL (Structured Query Language) (sql)

Output:

employee
-----------------------------------
{"name":"John","age":22,"job":null}Code language: SQL (Structured Query Language) (sql)

In this example, the value of the job key is NULL. Therefore, the JSON_OBJECT() function converts it into a JSON null value.

To omit the key/value where the value is NULL, you can explicitly use the ABSENT ON NULL option:

SELECT 
  JSON_OBJECT(
    'name' : 'John', 'age' : 22, 'job' : NULL ABSENT ON NULL
  ) employee;Code language: SQL (Structured Query Language) (sql)

Output:

employee
------------------------
{"name":"John","age":22}Code language: SQL (Structured Query Language) (sql)

4) Using the JSON_OBJECT() function to create a complex JSON object

The following example uses the JSON_OBJECT() function that creates a JSON object nested in another JSON object:

SELECT 
  JSON_OBJECT(
    'name' : 'John', 
    'job' : JSON_OBJECT('title' : 'DBA', 'grade' : 'P3')
  ) employee;Code language: SQL (Structured Query Language) (sql)

Output:

employee
--------------------------------------------------
{"name":"John","job":{"title":"DBA","grade":"P3"}}Code language: SQL (Structured Query Language) (sql)

5) Using the JSON_OBJECT() function with JSON_ARRAY() function

The following example constructs a JSON object with three keys, one key contains a JSON string, another key contains a JSON object, and another key contains a JSON array:

SELECT 
  JSON_OBJECT(
    'name' : 'John', 
    'job' : JSON_OBJECT('title' : 'DBA', 'grade' : 'P3'), 
    'skills' : JSON_ARRAY(
      'SQL', 'Linux', 'Backup & recovery'
    )
  ) employee;Code language: SQL (Structured Query Language) (sql)

Output:

employee
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
{"name":"John","job":{"title":"DBA","grade":"P3"},"skills":["SQL","Linux","Backup & recovery"]}Code language: SQL (Structured Query Language) (sql)

In this example, we use the JSON_ARRAY() function to construct a JSON array from values.

6) Using the JSON_OBJECT() function with table data

We’ll use the production.products table from the sample database.

The following example uses the JSON_OBJECT() function to create a JSON object for each row in the production.products table:

SELECT 
  JSON_OBJECT(
    'product_id' : product_id, 'product_name' : product_name, 
    'model_year' : model_year, 'list_price' : list_price
  ) product 
FROM 
  production.products;Code language: SQL (Structured Query Language) (sql)

Output:

product
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
{"product_id":1,"product_name":"Trek 820 - 2016","model_year":2016,"list_price":379.99}
{"product_id":2,"product_name":"Ritchey Timberwolf Frameset - 2016","model_year":2016,"list_price":749.99}
{"product_id":3,"product_name":"Surly Wednesday Frameset - 2016","model_year":2016,"list_price":999.99}
...Code language: SQL (Structured Query Language) (sql)

Summary

Use the JSON_OBJECT() function to construct a JSON object string from a list of key/value pairs.

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