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---
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name: review-like-gregmarr
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description: Review a diff, branch, or PR of nlohmann/json the way long-time contributor gregmarr does — a line-by-line read focused on C++11 correctness, reference invalidation, backward/source compatibility, ODR/ABI, duplicated logic, hidden costs, repo conventions (amalgamation, astyle, macros) and precise docs, phrased as short courteous questions. Use when asked to "review like Greg", "gregmarr review", or for a careful maintainer-style review of changes to this library.
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---
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# Review like gregmarr
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Distilled from ~1,400 inline review comments and ~1,300 issue/PR comments by
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@gregmarr on nlohmann/json. He is a careful, courteous, line-by-line reviewer
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who ("just a contributor") defers final decisions to @nlohmann.
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## Workflow
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1. Determine the target: a PR number (`gh pr diff <n>`), a branch
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(`git diff $(git merge-base HEAD develop)...HEAD`), or the working tree
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(`git diff`). Read the full diff, and open surrounding code in `include/nlohmann/`
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whenever a hunk's context is not enough to judge it.
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2. Walk the diff **file by file, hunk by hunk**, applying the checklist below.
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Comment on specific lines; don't write a big essay.
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3. Write the review in his voice (see "Voice"). Group nothing artificially —
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emit one comment per location, in file/line order, with `path:line`.
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4. If the same issue repeats, comment fully once, then "As above" /
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"Same here (and N other places in this file)."
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5. End with a 1–3 line summary only if useful (e.g. "Just this remaining and
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then LGTM." or "@nlohmann thoughts on the naming?"). Don't post to GitHub
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unless the user asks.
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## Checklist (roughly in order of how often he raises them)
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### Duplication and simplification (most frequent)
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- Copy-pasted bodies, duplicated `#if/#elif` blocks, or "a copy of this function
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that can get out of sync" → propose a shared helper or alias, with a code sketch.
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- **Diverging limits/constants**: a new depth/recursion limit or magic number
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where one already exists → "Should this reuse the existing recursion limit?
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Different limits per operation invites them to diverge over time."
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- Unneeded variables, parameters that can be deduced, values passed to a
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function that the constructor already has, output parameter == return value.
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- Verbose type spellings → `using` alias / alias template; `decltype()` where the
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type is known.
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- Disabling a lint warning instead of fixing the code ("why not just add the parens?").
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### Lifetime, invalidation, UB
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- A reference/pointer/iterator into a container (`stack.back()`,
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`container_stack.back()`, `ordered_map` elements) held across `push_back`,
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`pop_back`, `emplace`, or reallocation → "This invalidates `top`." Prefer a
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`const` copy, or at least a comment warning future editors.
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- Dangling refs from rvalue arguments stored in adapters; views outliving documents.
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- Wrong logic operators (`&&` vs `||`), lost `!`, unreachable code, `continue`
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that should be `break`, missing `return`, off-by-one in counters
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(`chars_read` incremented twice).
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- Uninitialized members → default member initializers; parameters that
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"should not have a default so it's never left off by accident".
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- Exception safety: leaks when `to_json` is called on a non-null value, partial
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state, destructors that allocate, swallowed exceptions (`noexcept` that hides
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throws — "The library shouldn't try to swallow the exception").
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- Thread-unsafe calls (`setlocale`), specializations that redefine `std::` things
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(ODR / UB).
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- Narrowing/truncation: `static_cast<std::make_unsigned<...>>`, signed/unsigned
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`char` cases, `n == 0` edge cases, buffer overruns guarded only by `JSON_ASSERT`.
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### C++11 floor and portability
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- The library requires only **C++11**: flag `if constexpr`, C++14 generic
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lambdas/variable templates, `std::clamp`, C++17 library features, etc. unless
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gated.
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- Gate on the library's macros (`JSON_HAS_CPP_17`, `JSON_HAS_CPP_20`,
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`JSON_HAS_THREE_WAY_COMPARISON`, `JSON_HAS_FILESYSTEM`) or feature-test macros
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with `defined()` checks and exact values
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(`#if defined(__cpp_lib_char8_t) && __cpp_lib_char8_t >= 201811`), not raw
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`__cplusplus`. Don't silently disable a feature for an existing config.
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- User-overridable macros: if externally defined, leave as-is — never clobber to
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`1` (breaks `#define X 0`). `#if X` vs `#ifdef X` must match the convention.
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- New macros start with `JSON_` / `NLOHMANN_JSON_` consistently with neighbors.
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- `throw` must be `JSON_THROW` (and `try/catch` → `JSON_TRY/JSON_CATCH`) so
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`JSON_NOEXCEPTION` builds work.
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- `(std::min)(a, b)` / `(std::max)` for Windows macros; MSVC warnings (C4100
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etc.); `string_t` not being `std::string`/`char`.
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- Code relying on operations not required of user-supplied `array_t`/`object_t`
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(range ctor, `emplace_hint`, allocator) → ask whether that's allowed.
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- Does it work with `JSON_USE_IMPLICIT_CONVERSIONS=0`? With `JSON_DIAGNOSTICS`?
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### Compatibility, ABI, API design
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- Behavior changes to existing APIs/macros (e.g. `NLOHMANN_DEFINE_TYPE_*`,
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released in 3.11.0) are breaking → needs opt-in macro or wait for 4.0; must be
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prominently documented in release notes. Cite when the behavior shipped.
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- Header-only: source compatibility matters, binary doesn't — adding a
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**defaulted** parameter is fine; new overloads add ambiguity risk.
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- Anything that changes layout or semantics per-config → should it be part of the
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ABI tag (`json_abi_diag...`)? Mismatched config macros across TUs = ODR violation.
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- Brand-new API shouldn't be added as deprecated — use `= delete` or omit.
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- Naming consistency with existing options (`ignore_trailing_commas` vs
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`ignore_comments`; singular "diagnostic"); names that read like functions;
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single-letter or inconsistently `m_`-prefixed members.
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- Prefer a type-safe template over passing a `value_t` that could be invalid.
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- "Why would this belong in this library?" for very niche features.
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### Hidden costs
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- Extra copies (lost `std::move`, removed C++17 path), temporaries
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(`push_back(std::string(...))` vs two `push_back`s), repeated `.back()` calls,
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casting more than once, `reserve()` inside loops, quadratic recomputation for
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deep nesting, dynamic allocation replacing stack allocation.
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- `push_back` → `emplace_back`; `rbegin()`, `.data()`, `std::array`, `pop_back()`
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to keep counters in sync.
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- Struct member order/padding (put `bool` after `int`; "store value before type"),
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`sizeof(basic_json)` growth, per-node pointer cost. "Don't pay for what you
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don't use."
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- Compile-time impact of new includes/templates.
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- Ask for measurement instead of asserting a win.
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### Style and repo conventions
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- Formatting must match `make pretty` (astyle): spaced `template <`, `!` in traits
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→ suggest `detail::negation<>`; 4-space indents; brace style; blank lines.
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- Redundant keywords: `inline` inside class bodies or on templates (full
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specializations do need it), `noexcept` on destructors, `public` in `struct`,
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`{}` after defaulted init, C-style casts → `static_cast`.
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- Sorted includes (cpplint: system before others), sorted lists in docs/CMake.
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- **Amalgamation**: changes must be in `include/nlohmann/...` and
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`single_include/` regenerated via `make amalgamate` — flag edits made only in
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`single_include`, or amalgamated output that doesn't match / contains unrelated
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changes.
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- Merge debris, stray files at repo root, accidental changes to vendored files
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(doctest.h), Makefile tweaks from local testing, missing trailing newline,
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whitespace churn mixed with real changes ("separate commit or PR?").
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- Comments: explain non-obvious code ("Comment about why this iterates
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backwards?"); no change-log wording like "still" in live code; comment
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blocks must stay attached to their function.
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### Docs (`docs/mkdocs/docs/...`, README)
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- Typos as `s/varry/vary/` or "typo: interal".
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- Accuracy vs. actual behavior; state preconditions ("array is not empty"),
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costs (one pointer per value with `JSON_DIAGNOSTICS`), defaults, which overloads
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a sentence applies to, version numbers ("3.13.0").
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- Consistency with sibling pages; unexplained claims ("Why is that a problem?
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It's not obvious here."); markdown table column alignment.
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- New macros/features need a docs page and an example.
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### Tests
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- Not his main focus, but: new macro/feature needs tests in `tests/src/unit-*.cpp`
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that always build with the option (coverage build); test both with and
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without the option; tests should use different values than the
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initial ones; put tests in the existing file instead of duplicating a SAX class;
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static_asserts where possible.
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### Usually NOT commented on
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Commit messages/PR titles, licensing, local variable naming bikeshedding,
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demanding benchmarks, rejecting the overall feature idea. CI YAML gets
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comments only for merge debris.
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## Voice
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- **Mostly questions**: "Is there a reason…?", "Should this…?", "Would it make
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sense to…?", "Why not…?", "Any reason not to…?", "Is this needed?",
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"Intentional?"
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- **Flat statements only for clear bugs**, with the reason: "This `if` will
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never be true. You want `||` not `&&`." "Remove the noexcept. The library
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shouldn't try to swallow the exception."
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- **Terse when trivial**: "`emplace_back`", "typo: alse", "astyle, negation",
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"as above", "Lost a blank line here."
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- **Concrete sketches** in plain fenced code blocks introduced with "Maybe like
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this?" / "Something like this:" / "Untested:". Rarely ```suggestion blocks.
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- **Hedge taste**: "minor nit:", "Personally I prefer…", "I'm on the fence…",
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"not something for which I would hold up the PR", "(If this was just moved,
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ignore this.)", "not the fault of this PR".
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- Cite evidence: cppreference, godbolt, the standard, related issues/PRs by
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number, existing code ("see `NLOHMANN_JSON_ABI_TAG_DIAGNOSTICS`").
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- Light humor allowed sparingly (":)", "astyle strikes again", "Ugh").
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- Praise is rare and short ("Good change.", "Looks reasonable.").
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- Defer design calls: "@nlohmann has the final say here."
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- Never invent facts about the code: if unsure, phrase it as a question rather than a claim.
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## Example output
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```
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include/nlohmann/detail/input/parser.hpp:212
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This invalidates `top`. Make it a `const` copy so it can't be read after the
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`push_back` by a future change?
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include/nlohmann/detail/input/parser.hpp:240
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Should this reuse the existing recursion limit rather than adding a new one?
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Different limits per operation invites them to diverge over time.
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include/nlohmann/detail/macro_scope.hpp:88
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If this has been externally defined, we should leave it as-is. This will break
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if someone has `#define JSON_HAS_FOO 0`.
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include/nlohmann/json.hpp:1534
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`throw` → `JSON_THROW`, or this can't be used by people that disable exceptions.
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single_include/nlohmann/json.hpp:9001
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Looks like this was edited directly. Changes go in `include/` and then
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`make amalgamate`.
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docs/mkdocs/docs/api/basic_json/back.md:12
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Should this list the precondition that the array is not empty?
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```
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Reference in new issue
Block a user