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json/docs/mkdocs/docs/api/basic_json/count.md
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Niels Lohmann 52b72b5684 Improve documentation: byte layouts, release pages, See also, dark-mode images (#5906)
- Make the iterator range illustrations legible in dark mode (prefers-color-scheme
  rules inside the SVGs).
- Add a "Byte layout" section with a color-coded byte table to each binary format
  page (BJData, BON8, BSON, CBOR, MessagePack, UBJSON), and highlight the smallest
  size per file in the comparison table.
- Add "See also" sections to the overview pages that lacked one.
- Split the release notes into one page per release, grouped by minor version on
  the overview page, with an "API changes" section per release generated from the
  API pages' version histories (hooks/api_changes.py).
- Fact-check the release notes and version histories against the release tags and
  correct wrong or misleading entries (e.g., json_serializer 2.1.0, merge_patch
  3.1.0, items, count, operator[], to_bjdata, std::string_view key support).

Signed-off-by: Niels Lohmann <mail@nlohmann.me>
2026-10-24 17:57:44 +02:00

3.2 KiB

nlohmann::basic_json::count

// (1)
size_type count(const typename object_t::key_type& key) const;

// (2)
template<typename KeyType>
size_type count(KeyType&& key) const;

// (3)
template<typename T>
size_type count(T) const = delete;
  1. Returns the number of elements with key key. If ObjectType is the default std::map type, the return value will always be 0 (key was not found) or 1 (key was found).
  2. See 1. This overload is only available if KeyType is comparable with #!cpp typename object_t::key_type and #!cpp typename object_comparator_t::is_transparent denotes a type.
  3. Deleted: this overload is only available if T is an integral type and is declared as deleted, so that a call with an integer key (for example, #!cpp j.count(0)) fails to compile. Otherwise, the integer literal 0 would convert to a null #!cpp const char* and, from there, to the key type, causing undefined behavior at runtime.

Template parameters

KeyType
A type for an object key other than json_pointer that is comparable with string_t using object_comparator_t. This can also be a string view (C++17).

Parameters

key (in)
key value of the element to count.

Return value

Number of elements with key key. If the JSON value is not an object, the return value will be 0.

Exception safety

Strong exception safety: if an exception occurs, the original value stays intact.

Complexity

Logarithmic in the size of the JSON object.

Notes

  • This method always returns 0 when executed on a JSON type that is not an object.
  • Calling this function with an integer argument (for example, #!cpp count(0)) does not compile: such an argument would otherwise implicitly convert to a null #!cpp const char* and, from there, cause undefined behavior when constructing a #!cpp std::string for the object key. To check for an array element instead, use at, operator[], or compare against size.

Examples

??? example "Example: (1) count number of elements"

The example shows how `count()` is used.

```cpp
--8<-- "examples/count__object_t_key_type.cpp"
```

Output:

```json
--8<-- "examples/count__object_t_key_type.output"
```

??? example "Example: (2) count number of elements using string_view"

The example shows how `count()` is used.

```cpp
--8<-- "examples/count__keytype.c++17.cpp"
```

Output:

```json
--8<-- "examples/count__keytype.c++17.output"
```

See also

Version history

  1. Added in version 3.11.0.
  2. Added in version 1.0.0. Changed to support comparable key types in version 3.11.0. Support for keys convertible to std::string_view added in version 3.13.0, consistently across the lookup functions.
  3. Deleted overload for integral key types added in version 3.13.0 to reject such calls at compile time instead of causing undefined behavior at runtime.