Need to create javascript array from json

Question

I need help converting this json string to a javascript array.

I've tried things like this:

var cityState = $.map(source, function (value) { return value; });

where "source" is the result of this ajax call:

$.ajax({
 url: 'http://localhost:49858/Default.aspx/getstuff',
 dataType: 'json',
 type: "POST",
 data: "{}",
 contentType: "application/json; charset=utf-8"
}).done(function (source) { ...

but it's just not working correctly.

 {"query": "Unit","suggestions":[{"value":"FAIRFIELD, CONNECTICUT","data":"FAIRFIELD, CONNECTICUT"},{"value":"LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA","data":"LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA"},{"value":"NEW YORK, NEW YORK","data":"NEW YORK, NEW YORK"},{"value":"HONOLULU, HAWAII","data":"HONOLULU, HAWAII"},{"value":"KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI","data":"KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI"},{"value":"SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA","data":"SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA"},{"value":"SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CALIFORNIA","data":"SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CALIFORNIA"},{"value":"LAKE DALLAS, TEXAS","data":"LAKE DALLAS, TEXAS"},{"value":"BROOMFIELD, COLORADO","data":"BROOMFIELD, COLORADO"},{"value":"BROOMFIELD, COLORADO","data":"BROOMFIELD, COLORADO"}]}

Screenshot of console.log(source) shows: enter image description here

• Denys Séguret: What are you trying to get ?
• Induster: From javascript - I'd expect to do something like source.suggestions but it's not allowing me to do so.
• Induster: Trying to get an array - ["first", "second", "third", "etc"]
• Explosion Pills: source is not a json-type string; it's an Object
• Induster: In dystroy's answer below I am asking if that object needs to be cast to a specific type before I can reference it.

Answer 1

This is a strange object you get. It looks like you encoded some object as JSON, set it as value of the property of an object, and then encoded it again.

If you want to get an array of all value of your suggestions array, then you may do

var values = $.map(JSON.parse(source.d).suggestions, function(v){ return v.value });

• Induster: alert(source); tells me it's an [object]. but alert(source.suggestions); just breaks things. I'm confused on how to reference "suggestions". perhaps I need to cast "source" to a specific type?
• Denys Séguret: To know what's in your object do for (var key in source) console.log(key, source[key]) and look at the console.
• Induster: Thanks - the console shows it prepends a "d" to the front. d {"query": "Unit",...
• Denys Séguret: That's strange : that can't be a valid object. Can you screenshot what you get when you do console.log(source) ?
• Denys Séguret: In fact that's the opposite : you have to parse source.d from a JSON string into a javascript object.