reftools

What is reftools?

The reftools npm package is a utility library designed for managing and manipulating JSON references within JavaScript objects. It provides tools for resolving, merging, and cloning JSON references, making it useful for handling complex JSON structures that include internal references.

What are reftools's main functionalities?

resolve

This feature resolves JSON references within the document. It replaces references with the actual data they refer to, simplifying the structure for easier manipulation and access.

const reftools = require('reftools');
let doc = { a: { b: { $ref: '#/c' } }, c: { d: 'hello' } };
let resolved = reftools.resolve(doc);
console.log(resolved);

merge

This feature merges two JavaScript objects, incorporating properties from the source object into the destination object. It's particularly useful for combining configurations or settings.

const reftools = require('reftools');
let src = { a: 1 };
let dst = { b: 2 };
reftools.merge(src, dst);
console.log(dst);

clone

This feature creates a deep clone of an object, including resolving any internal JSON references. This is useful for creating independent copies of complex objects that include references.

const reftools = require('reftools');
let original = { a: { b: { $ref: '#/c' } }, c: { d: 'hello' } };
let cloned = reftools.clone(original);
console.log(cloned);

Other packages similar to reftools

json-refs

json-refs is a package that provides tools for resolving references in JSON objects. It is similar to reftools but focuses more on the resolution aspect and includes additional utilities for finding and listing unresolved references.

swagger-tools

swagger-tools is a package primarily used for building and managing Swagger documents but includes functionality for resolving JSON references similar to reftools. It differs in that it is more specialized towards Swagger, whereas reftools is more general-purpose.