expand-object  

> Expand a string into a JavaScript object using a simple notation. Use the CLI or as a node.js lib.

- Install
* Type casting
- Install
- CLI
- node.js
* children
* siblings
+ general siblings
+ adjacent siblings
+ difference between sibling types
* key-value pairs
* arrays
- Usage examples
- Related projects
- Running tests
- Contributing
- Author
- License

_(TOC generated by verb using markdown-toc)_

Install

Install with npm

``sh
$ npm i expand-object --save
`

Also see collapse-object, for doing the reverse of this library.

Examples

`js
expand('a')
//=> {a: ''}

expand('a.b')
//=> {a: {b: ''}}

expand('a|b')
//=> {a: '', b: ''}

expand('a|b', {toBoolean: true})
//=> {a: true, b: true}

expand('a:b')
//=> {a: 'b'}

expand('a,b')
//=> ['a', 'b']
`

$3

Introduced in v0.2.2, some values are cast to their JavaScript type.

Booleans

If the value is "true" or "false" it will be coerced to a boolean value.

`js
expand('a:true')
//=> {a: true}
expand('a:false')
//=> {a: false}
`

Numbers

If the value is an integer it will be coerced to a number.

`js
expand('a:1')
//=> {a: 1}
expand('a:123')
//=> {a: 123}
`

Regex

If the value is a simple regular expression it will be coerced to a new RegExp().

`js
expand('a:/foo/')
//=> {a: /foo/}
expand('a.b.c:/^bar/gmi')
//=> {a: {b: {c: /^bar/gmi}}}
`

Install

Install with npm

`sh
$ npm i expand-object --save
`

CLI

Usage with cli:

`sh
❯ expand-object --help

Usage: expand-object [options]

Expand a string into a JavaScript object using a simple notation.

Options:

-h, --help output usage information
-V, --version output the version number
-r, --raw Output as raw javascript object - not stringified

Examples:

$ expand-object "a:b"
$ expand-object --raw "a:b"
$ echo "a:b" | expand-object
`

node.js

To use as a node.js library:

`js
var expand = require('expand-object');
`

$3

> Expand dots into child objects:

`js
expand('a')
//=> {a: ''}
expand('a.b')
//=> {a: {b: ''}}
expand('a.b.c')
//=> {a: {b: {c: ''}}}
expand('a.b.c.d')
//=> {a: {b: {c: {d: ''}}}}
`

$3

expand-object supports two kinds of siblings, general and adjacent. It's much easier to understand the difference in the last example.

#### general siblings

> Use pipes (|) to expand general siblings:

`js
expand('a|b')
//=> {a: '', b: ''}
expand('a|b|c')
//=> {a: '', b: '', c: ''}
expand('a|b|c|d')
//=> {a: '', b: '', c: '', d: ''}
expand('a:b|c:d')
//=> {a: 'b', c: 'd'}
`

#### adjacent siblings

> Use plus (+) to expand adjacent siblings:

Adjacent siblings are objects that immediately follow one another.

`js
expand('a:b+c:d')
//=> {a: 'b', c: 'd'}
expand('a.b:c+d:e')
//=> {a: {b: 'c', d: 'e'}}
`

#### difference between sibling types

In the example below:

* general: d is a sibling to a
* adjacent: d is a sibling to b

`js
// general siblings
expand('a.b:c|d:e')
//=> { a: { b: 'c' }, d: 'e' }

// adjacent siblings
expand('a.b:c+d:e')
//=> { a: { b: 'c', d: 'e' } }
`

$3

> Expand colons into key-value pairs:

`js
expand('a:b')
//=> {a: 'b'}
expand('a.b:c')
//=> {a: {b: 'c'}}
expand('a.b.c:d')
//=> {a: {b: {c: 'd'}}}
`

$3

> Expand comma separated values into arrays:

`js
expand('a,b')
//=> ['a', 'b']
expand('a,b,c')
//=> ['a', 'b', 'c']
expand('a:b,c,d|e:f,g,h')
//=> {a: ['b', 'c', 'd'], e: ['f', 'g', 'h']}
`

Usage examples

Expand siblings with comma separated values into arrays:

`js
expand('a:b,c,d|e:f,g,h')
//=> {a: ['b', 'c', 'd'], e: ['f', 'g', 'h']}
`

Expand children with comma separated values into arrays:

`js
expand('a.b.c:d,e,f|g.h:i,j,k')
//=> {a: { b: {c: ['d', 'e', 'f']}}, g: {h: ['i', 'j', 'k']}}
`

Expand sibling objects into key-value pairs:

`js
expand('a:b|c:d')
//=> {a: 'b', c: 'd'}
expand('a:b|c:d|e:f')
//=> {a: 'b', c: 'd', e: 'f'}
expand('a:b|c:d|e:f|g:h')
//=> {a: 'b', c: 'd', e: 'f', g: 'h'}
`

Expand child objects into key-value pairs:

`js
expand('a.b:c')
//=> {a: {b: 'c'}}
expand('a.b.c:d')
//=> {a: {b: {c: 'd'}}}
expand('a.b.c.d:e')
//=> {a: {b: {c: {d: 'e'}}}}
`

Expand sibling and child objects into key-value pairs:

`js
expand('a:b|c:d')
//=> {a: 'b', c: 'd'}
expand('a.b.c|d.e:f')
//=> {a: {b: {c: ''}}, d: {e: 'f'}}
expand('a.b:c|d.e:f')
//=> {a: {b: 'c'}, d: {e: 'f'}}
expand('a.b.c:d|e.f.g:h')
//=> {a: {b: {c: 'd'}}, e: {f: {g: 'h'}}}
`

Related projects

expand-args: Expand parsed command line arguments using expand-object. | homepage

Running tests

Install dev dependencies:

`sh
$ npm i -d && npm test
``

Contributing

Pull requests and stars are always welcome. For bugs and feature requests, please create an issue.

Author

Jon Schlinkert

* github/jonschlinkert
* twitter/jonschlinkert

License

Copyright © 2015 Jon Schlinkert
Released under the MIT license.

*

_This file was generated by verb on December 23, 2015._