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How to convert object to encoded query string [duplicate]

Is there a fast and simple way to encode a JavaScript object into a string that I can pass via a GET request?
No jQuery, no other frameworks—just plain JavaScript :)

Like this:
serialize = function(obj) {
var str = [];
for (var p in obj)
if (obj.hasOwnProperty(p)) {
str.push(encodeURIComponent(p) + "=" + encodeURIComponent(obj[p]));
}
return str.join("&");
}
console.log(serialize({
foo: "hi there",
bar: "100%"
}));
// foo=hi%20there&bar=100%25
This one also converts recursive objects (using PHP "array" notation for the query string):
serialize = function(obj, prefix) {
var str = [],
p;
for (p in obj) {
if (obj.hasOwnProperty(p)) {
var k = prefix ? prefix + "[" + p + "]" : p,
v = obj[p];
str.push((v !== null && typeof v === "object") ?
serialize(v, k) :
encodeURIComponent(k) + "=" + encodeURIComponent(v));
}
}
return str.join("&");
}
console.log(serialize({
foo: "hi there",
bar: {
blah: 123,
quux: [1, 2, 3]
}
}));
// foo=hi%20there&bar%5Bblah%5D=123&bar%5Bquux%5D%5B0%5D=1&bar%5Bquux%5D%5B1%5D=2&bar%5Bquux%5D%5B2%5D=3

Just use URLSearchParams This works in all current browsers
new URLSearchParams(object).toString()

jQuery has a function for this, jQuery.param(). If you're already using it, you can use this:
Example:
var params = { width:1680, height:1050 };
var str = jQuery.param( params );
str now contains width=1680&height=1050.

I suggest using the URLSearchParams interface:
const searchParams = new URLSearchParams();
const params = {foo: "hi there", bar: "100%" };
Object.keys(params).forEach(key => searchParams.append(key, params[key]));
console.log(searchParams.toString())
Or by passing the search object into the constructor like this:
const params = {foo: "hi there", bar: "100%" };
const queryString = new URLSearchParams(params).toString();
console.log(queryString);

Use:
Object.keys(obj).reduce(function(a,k){a.push(k+'='+encodeURIComponent(obj[k]));return a},[]).join('&')
I like this one-liner, but I bet it would be a more popular answer if it matched the accepted answer semantically:
function serialize( obj ) {
let str = '?' + Object.keys(obj).reduce(function(a, k){
a.push(k + '=' + encodeURIComponent(obj[k]));
return a;
}, []).join('&');
return str;
}

Here's a one liner in ES6:
Object.keys(obj).map(k => `${encodeURIComponent(k)}=${encodeURIComponent(obj[k])}`).join('&');

With Node.js v6.6.3
const querystring = require('querystring')
const obj = {
foo: 'bar',
baz: 'tor'
}
let result = querystring.stringify(obj)
// foo=bar&baz=tor
Reference: Query string

Ruby on Rails and PHP style query builder
This method converts a JavaScript object into a URI query string. It also handles nested arrays and objects (in Ruby on Rails and PHP syntax):
function serializeQuery(params, prefix) {
const query = Object.keys(params).map((key) => {
const value = params[key];
if (params.constructor === Array)
key = `${prefix}[]`;
else if (params.constructor === Object)
key = (prefix ? `${prefix}[${key}]` : key);
if (typeof value === 'object')
return serializeQuery(value, key);
else
return `${key}=${encodeURIComponent(value)}`;
});
return [].concat.apply([], query).join('&');
}
Example Usage:
let params = {
a: 100,
b: 'has spaces',
c: [1, 2, 3],
d: { x: 9, y: 8}
}
serializeQuery(params)
// returns 'a=100&b=has%20spaces&c[]=1&c[]=2&c[]=3&d[x]=9&d[y]=8

A small amendment to the accepted solution by user187291:
serialize = function(obj) {
var str = [];
for(var p in obj){
if (obj.hasOwnProperty(p)) {
str.push(encodeURIComponent(p) + "=" + encodeURIComponent(obj[p]));
}
}
return str.join("&");
}
Checking for hasOwnProperty on the object makes JSLint and JSHint happy, and it prevents accidentally serializing methods of the object or other stuff if the object is anything but a simple dictionary. See the paragraph on for statements on Code Conventions for the JavaScript Programming Language.

Well, everyone seems to put his one-liner here so here goes mine:
const encoded = Object.entries(obj).map(([k, v]) => `${k}=${encodeURIComponent(v)}`).join("&");

If you need to send arbitrary objects, then GET is a bad idea since there are limits to the lengths of URLs that user agents and web servers will accepts. My suggestion would be to build up an array of name-value pairs to send and then build up a query string:
function QueryStringBuilder() {
var nameValues = [];
this.add = function(name, value) {
nameValues.push( {name: name, value: value} );
};
this.toQueryString = function() {
var segments = [], nameValue;
for (var i = 0, len = nameValues.length; i < len; i++) {
nameValue = nameValues[i];
segments[i] = encodeURIComponent(nameValue.name) + "=" + encodeURIComponent(nameValue.value);
}
return segments.join("&");
};
}
var qsb = new QueryStringBuilder();
qsb.add("veg", "cabbage");
qsb.add("vegCount", "5");
alert( qsb.toQueryString() );

A little bit look better
objectToQueryString(obj, prefix) {
return Object.keys(obj).map(objKey => {
if (obj.hasOwnProperty(objKey)) {
const key = prefix ? `${prefix}[${objKey}]` : objKey;
const value = obj[objKey];
return typeof value === "object" ?
this.objectToQueryString(value, key) :
`${encodeURIComponent(key)}=${encodeURIComponent(value)}`;
}
return null;
}).join("&");
}

This one skips null/undefined values
export function urlEncodeQueryParams(data) {
const params = Object.keys(data).map(key => data[key] ? `${encodeURIComponent(key)}=${encodeURIComponent(data[key])}` : '');
return params.filter(value => !!value).join('&');
}

Here's the CoffeeScript version of the accepted answer.
serialize = (obj, prefix) ->
str = []
for p, v of obj
k = if prefix then prefix + "[" + p + "]" else p
if typeof v == "object"
str.push(serialize(v, k))
else
str.push(encodeURIComponent(k) + "=" + encodeURIComponent(v))
str.join("&")

Here's a concise & recursive version with Object.entries. It handles arbitrarily nested arrays, but not nested objects. It also removes empty elements:
const format = (k,v) => v !== null ? `${k}=${encodeURIComponent(v)}` : ''
const to_qs = (obj) => {
return [].concat(...Object.entries(obj)
.map(([k,v]) => Array.isArray(v)
? v.map(arr => to_qs({[k]:arr}))
: format(k,v)))
.filter(x => x)
.join('&');
}
E.g.:
let json = {
a: [1, 2, 3],
b: [], // omit b
c: 1,
d: "test&encoding", // uriencode
e: [[4,5],[6,7]], // flatten this
f: null, // omit nulls
g: 0
};
let qs = to_qs(json)
=> "a=1&a=2&a=3&c=1&d=test%26encoding&e=4&e=5&e=6&e=7&g=0"

Use:
const toQueryString = obj => "?".concat(Object.keys(obj).map(e => `${encodeURIComponent(e)}=${encodeURIComponent(obj[e])}`).join("&"));
const data = {
offset: 5,
limit: 10
};
toQueryString(data); // => ?offset=5&limit=10
Or use a predefined feature
const data = {
offset: 5,
limit: 10
};
new URLSearchParams(data).toString(); // => ?offset=5&limit=10
Note
Both the above methods will set the value as null if not present.
If you want not to set the query parameter if value is null then use:
const toQueryString = obj => "?".concat(Object.keys(obj).map(e => obj[e] ? `${encodeURIComponent(e)}=${encodeURIComponent(obj[e])}` : null).filter(e => !!e).join("&"));
const data = {
offset: null,
limit: 10
};
toQueryString(data); // => "?limit=10" else with above methods "?offset=null&limit=10"
You can freely use any method.

In ES7 you can write this in one line:
const serialize = (obj) => (Object.entries(obj).map(i => [i[0], encodeURIComponent(i[1])].join('=')).join('&'))

I have a simpler solution that does not use any third-party library and is already apt to be used in any browser that has "Object.keys" (aka all modern browsers + edge + ie):
In ES5
function(a){
if( typeof(a) !== 'object' )
return '';
return `?${Object.keys(a).map(k=>`${k}=${a[k]}`).join('&')}`;
}
In ES3
function(a){
if( typeof(a) !== 'object' )
return '';
return '?' + Object.keys(a).map(function(k){ return k + '=' + a[k] }).join('&');
}

I made a comparison of JSON stringifiers and the results are as follows:
JSON: {"_id":"5973782bdb9a930533b05cb2","isActive":true,"balance":"$1,446.35","age":32,"name":"Logan Keller","email":"logankeller#artiq.com","phone":"+1 (952) 533-2258","friends":[{"id":0,"name":"Colon Salazar"},{"id":1,"name":"French Mcneil"},{"id":2,"name":"Carol Martin"}],"favoriteFruit":"banana"}
Rison: (_id:'5973782bdb9a930533b05cb2',age:32,balance:'$1,446.35',email:'logankeller#artiq.com',favoriteFruit:banana,friends:!((id:0,name:'Colon Salazar'),(id:1,name:'French Mcneil'),(id:2,name:'Carol Martin')),isActive:!t,name:'Logan Keller',phone:'+1 (952) 533-2258')
O-Rison: _id:'5973782bdb9a930533b05cb2',age:32,balance:'$1,446.35',email:'logankeller#artiq.com',favoriteFruit:banana,friends:!((id:0,name:'Colon Salazar'),(id:1,name:'French Mcneil'),(id:2,name:'Carol Martin')),isActive:!t,name:'Logan Keller',phone:'+1 (952) 533-2258'
JSURL: ~(_id~'5973782bdb9a930533b05cb2~isActive~true~balance~'!1*2c446.35~age~32~name~'Logan*20Keller~email~'logankeller*40artiq.com~phone~'*2b1*20*28952*29*20533-2258~friends~(~(id~0~name~'Colon*20Salazar)~(id~1~name~'French*20Mcneil)~(id~2~name~'Carol*20Martin))~favoriteFruit~'banana)
QS: _id=5973782bdb9a930533b05cb2&isActive=true&balance=$1,446.35&age=32&name=Logan Keller&email=logankeller#artiq.com&phone=+1 (952) 533-2258&friends[0][id]=0&friends[0][name]=Colon Salazar&friends[1][id]=1&friends[1][name]=French Mcneil&friends[2][id]=2&friends[2][name]=Carol Martin&favoriteFruit=banana
URLON: $_id=5973782bdb9a930533b05cb2&isActive:true&balance=$1,446.35&age:32&name=Logan%20Keller&email=logankeller#artiq.com&phone=+1%20(952)%20533-2258&friends#$id:0&name=Colon%20Salazar;&$id:1&name=French%20Mcneil;&$id:2&name=Carol%20Martin;;&favoriteFruit=banana
QS-JSON: isActive=true&balance=%241%2C446.35&age=32&name=Logan+Keller&email=logankeller%40artiq.com&phone=%2B1+(952)+533-2258&friends(0).id=0&friends(0).name=Colon+Salazar&friends(1).id=1&friends(1).name=French+Mcneil&friends(2).id=2&friends(2).name=Carol+Martin&favoriteFruit=banana
The shortest among them is URL Object Notation.

There another popular library, qs. You can add it by:
yarn add qs
And then use it like this:
import qs from 'qs'
const array = { a: { b: 'c' } }
const stringified = qs.stringify(array, { encode: false })
console.log(stringified) //-- outputs a[b]=c

ES6 solution for query string encoding of a JavaScript object
const params = {
a: 1,
b: 'query stringify',
c: null,
d: undefined,
f: '',
g: { foo: 1, bar: 2 },
h: ['Winterfell', 'Westeros', 'Braavos'],
i: { first: { second: { third: 3 }}}
}
static toQueryString(params = {}, prefix) {
const query = Object.keys(params).map((k) => {
let key = k;
const value = params[key];
if (!value && (value === null || value === undefined || isNaN(value))) {
value = '';
}
switch (params.constructor) {
case Array:
key = `${prefix}[]`;
break;
case Object:
key = (prefix ? `${prefix}[${key}]` : key);
break;
}
if (typeof value === 'object') {
return this.toQueryString(value, key); // for nested objects
}
return `${key}=${encodeURIComponent(value)}`;
});
return query.join('&');
}
toQueryString(params)
"a=1&b=query%20stringify&c=&d=&f=&g[foo]=1&g[bar]=2&h[]=Winterfell&h[]=Westeros&h[]=Braavos&i[first][second][third]=3"

A single line to convert an object into a query string in case somebody needs it again:
let Objs = { a: 'obejct-a', b: 'object-b' }
Object.keys(objs).map(key => key + '=' + objs[key]).join('&')
// The result will be a=object-a&b=object-b

This is an addition for the accepted solution. This works with objects and array of objects:
parseJsonAsQueryString = function (obj, prefix, objName) {
var str = [];
for (var p in obj) {
if (obj.hasOwnProperty(p)) {
var v = obj[p];
if (typeof v == "object") {
var k = (objName ? objName + '.' : '') + (prefix ? prefix + "[" + p + "]" : p);
str.push(parseJsonAsQueryString(v, k));
} else {
var k = (objName ? objName + '.' : '') + (prefix ? prefix + '.' + p : p);
str.push(encodeURIComponent(k) + "=" + encodeURIComponent(v));
//str.push(k + "=" + v);
}
}
}
return str.join("&");
}
Also I have added objName if you're using object parameters, like in ASP.NET MVC action methods.

If you want to convert a nested object recursively and the object may or may not contain arrays (and the arrays may contain objects or arrays, etc), then the solution gets a little more complex. This is my attempt.
I've also added some options to choose if you want to record for each object member at what depth in the main object it sits, and to choose if you want to add a label to the members that come from converted arrays.
Ideally you should test if the thing parameter really receives an object or array.
function thingToString(thing,maxDepth,recordLevel,markArrays){
//thing: object or array to be recursively serialized
//maxDepth (int or false):
// (int) how deep to go with converting objects/arrays within objs/arrays
// (false) no limit to recursive objects/arrays within objects/arrays
//recordLevel (boolean):
// true - insert "(level 1)" before transcript of members at level one (etc)
// false - just
//markArrays (boolean):
// insert text to indicate any members that came from arrays
var result = "";
if (maxDepth !== false && typeof maxDepth != 'number') {maxDepth = 3;}
var runningDepth = 0;//Keeps track how deep we're into recursion
//First prepare the function, so that it can call itself recursively
function serializeAnything(thing){
//Set path-finder values
runningDepth += 1;
if(recordLevel){result += "(level " + runningDepth + ")";}
//First convert any arrays to object so they can be processed
if (thing instanceof Array){
var realObj = {};var key;
if (markArrays) {realObj['type'] = "converted array";}
for (var i = 0;i < thing.length;i++){
if (markArrays) {key = "a" + i;} else {key = i;}
realObj[key] = thing[i];
}
thing = realObj;
console.log('converted one array to ' + typeof realObj);
console.log(thing);
}
//Then deal with it
for (var member in thing){
if (typeof thing[member] == 'object' && runningDepth < maxDepth){
serializeAnything(thing[member]);
//When a sub-object/array is serialized, it will add one to
//running depth. But when we continue to this object/array's
//next sibling, the level must go back up by one
runningDepth -= 1;
} else if (maxDepth !== false && runningDepth >= maxDepth) {
console.log('Reached bottom');
} else
if (
typeof thing[member] == "string" ||
typeof thing[member] == 'boolean' ||
typeof thing[member] == 'number'
){
result += "(" + member + ": " + thing[member] + ") ";
} else {
result += "(" + member + ": [" + typeof thing[member] + " not supported]) ";
}
}
}
//Actually kick off the serialization
serializeAnything(thing);
return result;
}

This is a solution that will work for .NET backends out of the box. I have taken the primary answer of this thread and updated it to fit our .NET needs.
function objectToQuerystring(params) {
var result = '';
function convertJsonToQueryString(data, progress, name) {
name = name || '';
progress = progress || '';
if (typeof data === 'object') {
Object.keys(data).forEach(function (key) {
var value = data[key];
if (name == '') {
convertJsonToQueryString(value, progress, key);
} else {
if (isNaN(parseInt(key))) {
convertJsonToQueryString(value, progress, name + '.' + key);
} else {
convertJsonToQueryString(value, progress, name + '[' + key+ ']');
}
}
})
} else {
result = result ? result.concat('&') : result.concat('?');
result = result.concat(`${name}=${data}`);
}
}
convertJsonToQueryString(params);
return result;
}

To do it in a better way.
It can handle recursive objects or arrays in the standard query form, like a=val&b[0]=val&b[1]=val&c=val&d[some key]=val. Here's the final function.
Logic, Functionality
const objectToQueryString = (initialObj) => {
const reducer = (obj, parentPrefix = null) => (prev, key) => {
const val = obj[key];
key = encodeURIComponent(key);
const prefix = parentPrefix ? `${parentPrefix}[${key}]` : key;
if (val == null || typeof val === 'function') {
prev.push(`${prefix}=`);
return prev;
}
if (['number', 'boolean', 'string'].includes(typeof val)) {
prev.push(`${prefix}=${encodeURIComponent(val)}`);
return prev;
}
prev.push(Object.keys(val).reduce(reducer(val, prefix), []).join('&'));
return prev;
};
return Object.keys(initialObj).reduce(reducer(initialObj), []).join('&');
};
Example
const testCase1 = {
name: 'Full Name',
age: 30
}
const testCase2 = {
name: 'Full Name',
age: 30,
children: [
{name: 'Child foo'},
{name: 'Foo again'}
],
wife: {
name: 'Very Difficult to say here'
}
}
console.log(objectToQueryString(testCase1));
console.log(objectToQueryString(testCase2));
Live Test
Expand the snippet below to verify the result in your browser -
const objectToQueryString = (initialObj) => {
const reducer = (obj, parentPrefix = null) => (prev, key) => {
const val = obj[key];
key = encodeURIComponent(key);
const prefix = parentPrefix ? `${parentPrefix}[${key}]` : key;
if (val == null || typeof val === 'function') {
prev.push(`${prefix}=`);
return prev;
}
if (['number', 'boolean', 'string'].includes(typeof val)) {
prev.push(`${prefix}=${encodeURIComponent(val)}`);
return prev;
}
prev.push(Object.keys(val).reduce(reducer(val, prefix), []).join('&'));
return prev;
};
return Object.keys(initialObj).reduce(reducer(initialObj), []).join('&');
};
const testCase1 = {
name: 'Full Name',
age: 30
}
const testCase2 = {
name: 'Full Name',
age: 30,
children: [
{name: 'Child foo'},
{name: 'Foo again'}
],
wife: {
name: 'Very Difficult to say here'
}
}
console.log(objectToQueryString(testCase1));
console.log(objectToQueryString(testCase2));
Things to consider.
It skips values for functions, null, and undefined
It skips keys and values for empty objects and arrays.
It doesn't handle Number or String objects made with new Number(1) or new String('my string') because no one should ever do that

ok, it's a older post but i'm facing this problem and i have found my personal solution.. maybe can help someone else..
function objToQueryString(obj){
var k = Object.keys(obj);
var s = "";
for(var i=0;i<k.length;i++) {
s += k[i] + "=" + encodeURIComponent(obj[k[i]]);
if (i != k.length -1) s += "&";
}
return s;
};

URLSearchParams looks good, but it didn't work for nested objects.
Try to use
encodeURIComponent(JSON.stringify(object))

The previous answers do not work if you have a lot of nested objects.
Instead you can pick the function parameter from jquery-param/jquery-param.js. It worked very well for me!
var param = function (a) {
var s = [], rbracket = /\[\]$/,
isArray = function (obj) {
return Object.prototype.toString.call(obj) === '[object Array]';
}, add = function (k, v) {
v = typeof v === 'function' ? v() : v === null ? '' : v === undefined ? '' : v;
s[s.length] = encodeURIComponent(k) + '=' + encodeURIComponent(v);
}, buildParams = function (prefix, obj) {
var i, len, key;
if (prefix) {
if (isArray(obj)) {
for (i = 0, len = obj.length; i < len; i++) {
if (rbracket.test(prefix)) {
add(prefix, obj[i]);
} else {
buildParams(prefix + '[' + (typeof obj[i] === 'object' ? i : '') + ']', obj[i]);
}
}
} else if (obj && String(obj) === '[object Object]') {
for (key in obj) {
buildParams(prefix + '[' + key + ']', obj[key]);
}
} else {
add(prefix, obj);
}
} else if (isArray(obj)) {
for (i = 0, len = obj.length; i < len; i++) {
add(obj[i].name, obj[i].value);
}
} else {
for (key in obj) {
buildParams(key, obj[key]);
}
}
return s;
};
return buildParams('', a).join('&').replace(/%20/g, '+');
};

After going through some top answers here, I have wrote another implementation that tackles some edge cases as well
function serialize(params, prefix) {
return Object.entries(params).reduce((acc, [key, value]) => {
// remove whitespace from both sides of the key before encoding
key = encodeURIComponent(key.trim());
if (params.constructor === Array ) {
key = `${prefix}[]`;
} else if (params.constructor === Object) {
key = (prefix ? `${prefix}[${key}]` : key);
}
/**
* - undefined and NaN values will be skipped automatically
* - value will be empty string for functions and null
* - nested arrays will be flattened
*/
if (value === null || typeof value === 'function') {
acc.push(`${key}=`);
} else if (typeof value === 'object') {
acc = acc.concat(serialize(value, key));
} else if(['number', 'boolean', 'string'].includes(typeof value) && value === value) { // self-check to avoid NaN
acc.push(`${key}=${encodeURIComponent(value)}`);
}
return acc;
}, []);
}
function objectToQueryString(queryParameters) {
return queryParameters ? serialize(queryParameters).join('&'): '';
}
let x = objectToQueryString({
foo: 'hello world',
bar: {
blah: 123,
list: [1, 2, 3],
'nested array': [[4,5],[6,7]] // will be flattened
},
page: 1,
limit: undefined, // field will be ignored
check: false,
max: NaN, // field will be ignored
prop: null,
' key value': 'with spaces' // space in key will be trimmed out
});
console.log(x); // foo=hello%20world&bar[blah]=123&bar[list][]=1&bar[list][]=2&bar[list][]=3&bar[nested%20array][][]=4&bar[nested%20array][][]=5&bar[nested%20array][][]=6&bar[nested%20array][][]=7&page=1&check=false&prop=&key%20value=with%20spaces

How to pass an array into an hidden input value in javascript and retrieve it [duplicate]

How can I convert a JavaScript object into a string?
Example:
var o = {a:1, b:2}
console.log(o)
console.log('Item: ' + o)
Output:
Object { a=1, b=2} // very nice readable output :)
Item: [object Object] // no idea what's inside :(

I would recommend using JSON.stringify, which converts the set of the variables in the object to a JSON string.
var obj = {
name: 'myObj'
};
JSON.stringify(obj);
Most modern browsers support this method natively, but for those that don't, you can include a JS version.

Use javascript String() function
String(yourobject); //returns [object Object]
or stringify()
JSON.stringify(yourobject)

Sure, to convert an object into a string, you either have to use your own method, such as:
function objToString (obj) {
var str = '';
for (var p in obj) {
if (Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty.call(obj, p)) {
str += p + '::' + obj[p] + '\n';
}
}
return str;
}
Actually, the above just shows the general approach; you may wish to use something like http://phpjs.org/functions/var_export:578 or http://phpjs.org/functions/var_dump:604
or, if you are not using methods (functions as properties of your object), you may be able to use the new standard (but not implemented in older browsers, though you can find a utility to help with it for them too), JSON.stringify(). But again, that won't work if the object uses functions or other properties which aren't serializable to JSON.
Update:
A more modern solution would be:
function objToString (obj) {
let str = '';
for (const [p, val] of Object.entries(obj)) {
str += `${p}::${val}\n`;
}
return str;
}
or:
function objToString (obj) {
return Object.entries(obj).reduce((str, [p, val]) => {
return `${str}${p}::${val}\n`;
}, '');
}

Keeping it simple with console, you can just use a comma instead of a +. The + will try to convert the object into a string, whereas the comma will display it separately in the console.
Example:
var o = {a:1, b:2};
console.log(o);
console.log('Item: ' + o);
console.log('Item: ', o); // :)
Output:
Object { a=1, b=2} // useful
Item: [object Object] // not useful
Item: Object {a: 1, b: 2} // Best of both worlds! :)
Reference: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Console.log

EDIT Do not use this answer as it works only in some versions of Firefox. No other browsers support it. Use Gary Chambers solution.
toSource() is the function you are looking for which will write it out as JSON.
var object = {};
object.first = "test";
object.second = "test2";
alert(object.toSource());

One option:
console.log('Item: ' + JSON.stringify(o));
Another option (as soktinpk pointed out in the comments), and better for console debugging IMO:
console.log('Item: ', o);

None of the solutions here worked for me. JSON.stringify seems to be what a lot of people say, but it cuts out functions and seems pretty broken for some objects and arrays I tried when testing it.
I made my own solution which works in Chrome at least. Posting it here so anyone that looks this up on Google can find it.
//Make an object a string that evaluates to an equivalent object
// Note that eval() seems tricky and sometimes you have to do
// something like eval("a = " + yourString), then use the value
// of a.
//
// Also this leaves extra commas after everything, but JavaScript
// ignores them.
function convertToText(obj) {
//create an array that will later be joined into a string.
var string = [];
//is object
// Both arrays and objects seem to return "object"
// when typeof(obj) is applied to them. So instead
// I am checking to see if they have the property
// join, which normal objects don't have but
// arrays do.
if (typeof(obj) == "object" && (obj.join == undefined)) {
string.push("{");
for (prop in obj) {
string.push(prop, ": ", convertToText(obj[prop]), ",");
};
string.push("}");
//is array
} else if (typeof(obj) == "object" && !(obj.join == undefined)) {
string.push("[")
for(prop in obj) {
string.push(convertToText(obj[prop]), ",");
}
string.push("]")
//is function
} else if (typeof(obj) == "function") {
string.push(obj.toString())
//all other values can be done with JSON.stringify
} else {
string.push(JSON.stringify(obj))
}
return string.join("")
}
EDIT: I know this code can be improved but just never got around to doing it. User andrey suggested an improvement here with the comment:
Here is a little bit changed code, which can handle 'null' and 'undefined', and also do not add excessive commas.
Use that at your own risk as I haven't verified it at all. Feel free to suggest any additional improvements as a comment.

If you're just outputting to the console, you can use console.log('string:', obj). Notice the comma.

In cases where you know the object is just a Boolean, Date, String, number etc... The javascript String() function works just fine. I recently found this useful in dealing with values coming from jquery's $.each function.
For example the following would convert all items in "value" to a string:
$.each(this, function (name, value) {
alert(String(value));
});
More details here:
http://www.w3schools.com/jsref/jsref_string.asp

I was looking for this, and wrote a deep recursive one with indentation :
function objToString(obj, ndeep) {
if(obj == null){ return String(obj); }
switch(typeof obj){
case "string": return '"'+obj+'"';
case "function": return obj.name || obj.toString();
case "object":
var indent = Array(ndeep||1).join('\t'), isArray = Array.isArray(obj);
return '{['[+isArray] + Object.keys(obj).map(function(key){
return '\n\t' + indent + key + ': ' + objToString(obj[key], (ndeep||1)+1);
}).join(',') + '\n' + indent + '}]'[+isArray];
default: return obj.toString();
}
}
Usage : objToString({ a: 1, b: { c: "test" } })

var obj={
name:'xyz',
Address:'123, Somestreet'
}
var convertedString=JSON.stringify(obj)
console.log("literal object is",obj ,typeof obj);
console.log("converted string :",convertedString);
console.log(" convertedString type:",typeof convertedString);

There is actually one easy option (for recent browsers and Node.js) missing in the existing answers:
console.log('Item: %o', o);
I would prefer this as JSON.stringify() has certain limitations (e.g. with circular structures).

If you just want to see the object for debugging, you can use
var o = {a:1, b:2}
console.dir(o)

1.
JSON.stringify(o);
Item: {"a":"1", "b":"2"}
2.
var o = {a:1, b:2};
var b=[]; Object.keys(o).forEach(function(k){b.push(k+":"+o[k]);});
b="{"+b.join(', ')+"}";
console.log('Item: ' + b);
Item: {a:1, b:2}

It appears JSON accept the second parameter that could help with functions - replacer, this solves the issue of converting in the most elegant way:
JSON.stringify(object, (key, val) => {
if (typeof val === 'function') {
return String(val);
}
return val;
});

JSON methods are quite inferior to the Gecko engine .toSource() primitive.
See the SO article response for comparison tests.
Also, the answer above refers to http://forums.devshed.com/javascript-development-115/tosource-with-arrays-in-ie-386109.html which, like JSON, (which the other article http://www.davidpirek.com/blog/object-to-string-how-to-deserialize-json uses via "ExtJs JSON encode source code") cannot handle circular references and is incomplete. The code below shows it's (spoof's) limitations (corrected to handle arrays and objects without content).
(direct link to code in //forums.devshed.com/ ... /tosource-with-arrays-in-ie-386109)
javascript:
Object.prototype.spoof=function(){
if (this instanceof String){
return '(new String("'+this.replace(/"/g, '\\"')+'"))';
}
var str=(this instanceof Array)
? '['
: (this instanceof Object)
? '{'
: '(';
for (var i in this){
if (this[i] != Object.prototype.spoof) {
if (this instanceof Array == false) {
str+=(i.match(/\W/))
? '"'+i.replace('"', '\\"')+'":'
: i+':';
}
if (typeof this[i] == 'string'){
str+='"'+this[i].replace('"', '\\"');
}
else if (this[i] instanceof Date){
str+='new Date("'+this[i].toGMTString()+'")';
}
else if (this[i] instanceof Array || this[i] instanceof Object){
str+=this[i].spoof();
}
else {
str+=this[i];
}
str+=', ';
}
};
str=/* fix */(str.length>2?str.substring(0, str.length-2):str)/* -ed */+(
(this instanceof Array)
? ']'
: (this instanceof Object)
? '}'
: ')'
);
return str;
};
for(i in objRA=[
[ 'Simple Raw Object source code:',
'[new Array, new Object, new Boolean, new Number, ' +
'new String, new RegExp, new Function, new Date]' ] ,
[ 'Literal Instances source code:',
'[ [], {}, true, 1, "", /./, function(){}, new Date() ]' ] ,
[ 'some predefined entities:',
'[JSON, Math, null, Infinity, NaN, ' +
'void(0), Function, Array, Object, undefined]' ]
])
alert([
'\n\n\ntesting:',objRA[i][0],objRA[i][1],
'\n.toSource()',(obj=eval(objRA[i][1])).toSource(),
'\ntoSource() spoof:',obj.spoof()
].join('\n'));
which displays:
testing:
Simple Raw Object source code:
[new Array, new Object, new Boolean, new Number, new String,
new RegExp, new Function, new Date]
.toSource()
[[], {}, (new Boolean(false)), (new Number(0)), (new String("")),
/(?:)/, (function anonymous() {}), (new Date(1303248037722))]
toSource() spoof:
[[], {}, {}, {}, (new String("")),
{}, {}, new Date("Tue, 19 Apr 2011 21:20:37 GMT")]
and
testing:
Literal Instances source code:
[ [], {}, true, 1, "", /./, function(){}, new Date() ]
.toSource()
[[], {}, true, 1, "", /./, (function () {}), (new Date(1303248055778))]
toSource() spoof:
[[], {}, true, 1, ", {}, {}, new Date("Tue, 19 Apr 2011 21:20:55 GMT")]
and
testing:
some predefined entities:
[JSON, Math, null, Infinity, NaN, void(0), Function, Array, Object, undefined]
.toSource()
[JSON, Math, null, Infinity, NaN, (void 0),
function Function() {[native code]}, function Array() {[native code]},
function Object() {[native code]}, (void 0)]
toSource() spoof:
[{}, {}, null, Infinity, NaN, undefined, {}, {}, {}, undefined]

For non-nested objects:
Object.entries(o).map(x=>x.join(":")).join("\r\n")

stringify-object is a good npm library made by the yeoman team: https://www.npmjs.com/package/stringify-object
npm install stringify-object
then:
const stringifyObject = require('stringify-object');
stringifyObject(myCircularObject);
Obviously it's interesting only if you have circular object that would fail with JSON.stringify();

As firefox does not stringify some object as screen object ; if you want to have the same result such as : JSON.stringify(obj) :
function objToString (obj) {
var tabjson=[];
for (var p in obj) {
if (obj.hasOwnProperty(p)) {
tabjson.push('"'+p +'"'+ ':' + obj[p]);
}
} tabjson.push()
return '{'+tabjson.join(',')+'}';
}

If you only care about strings, objects, and arrays:
function objectToString (obj) {
var str = '';
var i=0;
for (var key in obj) {
if (obj.hasOwnProperty(key)) {
if(typeof obj[key] == 'object')
{
if(obj[key] instanceof Array)
{
str+= key + ' : [ ';
for(var j=0;j<obj[key].length;j++)
{
if(typeof obj[key][j]=='object') {
str += '{' + objectToString(obj[key][j]) + (j > 0 ? ',' : '') + '}';
}
else
{
str += '\'' + obj[key][j] + '\'' + (j > 0 ? ',' : ''); //non objects would be represented as strings
}
}
str+= ']' + (i > 0 ? ',' : '')
}
else
{
str += key + ' : { ' + objectToString(obj[key]) + '} ' + (i > 0 ? ',' : '');
}
}
else {
str +=key + ':\'' + obj[key] + '\'' + (i > 0 ? ',' : '');
}
i++;
}
}
return str;
}

maybe you are looking for
JSON.stringify(JSON.stringify(obj))
"{\"id\":30}"

Take a look at the jQuery-JSON plugin
At its core, it uses JSON.stringify but falls back to its own parser if the browser doesn't implement it.

If you can use lodash you can do it this way:
> var o = {a:1, b:2};
> '{' + _.map(o, (value, key) => key + ':' + value).join(', ') + '}'
'{a:1, b:2}'
With lodash map() you can iterate over Objects as well.
This maps every key/value entry to its string representation:
> _.map(o, (value, key) => key + ':' + value)
[ 'a:1', 'b:2' ]
And join() put the array entries together.
If you can use ES6 Template String, this works also:
> `{${_.map(o, (value, key) => `${key}:${value}`).join(', ')}}`
'{a:1, b:2}'
Please note this do not goes recursive through the Object:
> var o = {a:1, b:{c:2}}
> _.map(o, (value, key) => `${key}:${value}`)
[ 'a:1', 'b:[object Object]' ]
Like node's util.inspect() will do:
> util.inspect(o)
'{ a: 1, b: { c: 2 } }'

function objToString (obj) {
var str = '{';
if(typeof obj=='object')
{
for (var p in obj) {
if (obj.hasOwnProperty(p)) {
str += p + ':' + objToString (obj[p]) + ',';
}
}
}
else
{
if(typeof obj=='string')
{
return '"'+obj+'"';
}
else
{
return obj+'';
}
}
return str.substring(0,str.length-1)+"}";
}

var o = {a:1, b:2};
o.toString=function(){
return 'a='+this.a+', b='+this.b;
};
console.log(o);
console.log('Item: ' + o);
Since Javascript v1.0 works everywhere (even IE)
this is a native approach and allows for a very costomised look of your object while debugging and in production
https://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Object/toString
Usefull example
var Ship=function(n,x,y){
this.name = n;
this.x = x;
this.y = y;
};
Ship.prototype.toString=function(){
return '"'+this.name+'" located at: x:'+this.x+' y:'+this.y;
};
alert([new Ship('Star Destroyer', 50.001, 53.201),
new Ship('Millennium Falcon', 123.987, 287.543),
new Ship('TIE fighter', 83.060, 102.523)].join('\n'));//now they can battle!
//"Star Destroyer" located at: x:50.001 y:53.201
//"Millennium Falcon" located at: x:123.987 y:287.543
//"TIE fighter" located at: x:83.06 y:102.523
Also, as a bonus
function ISO8601Date(){
return this.getFullYear()+'-'+(this.getMonth()+1)+'-'+this.getDate();
}
var d=new Date();
d.toString=ISO8601Date;//demonstrates altering native object behaviour
alert(d);
//IE6 Fri Jul 29 04:21:26 UTC+1200 2016
//FF&GC Fri Jul 29 2016 04:21:26 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
//d.toString=ISO8601Date; 2016-7-29

Circular References
By using below replacer we can produce less redundant JSON - if source object contains multi-references to some object, or contains circular references - then we reference it by special path-string (similar to JSONPath) - we use it as follows
let s = JSON.stringify(obj, refReplacer());
function refReplacer() {
let m = new Map(), v= new Map(), init = null;
return function(field, value) {
let p= m.get(this) + (Array.isArray(this) ? `[${field}]` : '.' + field);
let isComplex= value===Object(value)
if (isComplex) m.set(value, p);
let pp = v.get(value)||'';
let path = p.replace(/undefined\.\.?/,'');
let val = pp ? `#REF:${pp[0]=='[' ? '$':'$.'}${pp}` : value;
!init ? (init=value) : (val===init ? val="#REF:$" : 0);
if(!pp && isComplex) v.set(value, path);
return val;
}
}
// ---------------
// TEST
// ---------------
// gen obj with duplicate references
let a = { a1: 1, a2: 2 };
let b = { b1: 3, b2: "4" };
let obj = { o1: { o2: a }, b, a }; // duplicate reference
a.a3 = [1,2,b]; // circular reference
b.b3 = a; // circular reference
let s = JSON.stringify(obj, refReplacer(), 4);
console.log(s);
BONUS: and here is inverse function of such serialisation
function parseRefJSON(json) {
let objToPath = new Map();
let pathToObj = new Map();
let o = JSON.parse(json);
let traverse = (parent, field) => {
let obj = parent;
let path = '#REF:$';
if (field !== undefined) {
obj = parent[field];
path = objToPath.get(parent) + (Array.isArray(parent) ? `[${field}]` : `${field?'.'+field:''}`);
}
objToPath.set(obj, path);
pathToObj.set(path, obj);
let ref = pathToObj.get(obj);
if (ref) parent[field] = ref;
for (let f in obj) if (obj === Object(obj)) traverse(obj, f);
}
traverse(o);
return o;
}
// ------------
// TEST
// ------------
let s = `{
"o1": {
"o2": {
"a1": 1,
"a2": 2,
"a3": [
1,
2,
{
"b1": 3,
"b2": "4",
"b3": "#REF:$.o1.o2"
}
]
}
},
"b": "#REF:$.o1.o2.a3[2]",
"a": "#REF:$.o1.o2"
}`;
console.log('Open Chrome console to see nested fields:');
let obj = parseRefJSON(s);
console.log(obj);

/*
This function is as JSON.Stringify (but if you has not in your js-engine you can use this)
Params:
obj - your object
inc_ident - can be " " or "\t".
show_types - show types of object or not
ident - need for recoursion but you can not set this parameter.
*/
function getAsText(obj, inc_ident, show_types, ident) {
var res = "";
if (!ident)
ident = "";
if (typeof(obj) == "string") {
res += "\"" + obj + "\" ";
res += (show_types == true) ? "/* typeobj: " + typeof(obj) + "*/" : "";
} else if (typeof(obj) == "number" || typeof(obj) == "boolean") {
res += obj;
res += (show_types == true) ? "/* typeobj: " + typeof(obj) + "*/" : "";
} else if (obj instanceof Array) {
res += "[ ";
res += show_types ? "/* typeobj: " + typeof(obj) + "*/" : "";
res += "\r\n";
var new_ident = ident + inc_ident;
var arr = [];
for(var key in obj) {
arr.push(new_ident + getAsText(obj[key], inc_ident, show_types, new_ident));
}
res += arr.join(",\r\n") + "\r\n";
res += ident + "]";
} else {
var new_ident = ident + inc_ident;
res += "{ ";
res += (show_types == true) ? "/* typeobj: " + typeof(obj) + "*/" : "";
res += "\r\n";
var arr = [];
for(var key in obj) {
arr.push(new_ident + '"' + key + "\" : " + getAsText(obj[key], inc_ident, show_types, new_ident));
}
res += arr.join(",\r\n") + "\r\n";
res += ident + "}\r\n";
}
return res;
};
example to use:
var obj = {
str : "hello",
arr : ["1", "2", "3", 4],
b : true,
vobj : {
str : "hello2"
}
}
var ForReading = 1, ForWriting = 2;
var fso = new ActiveXObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
f1 = fso.OpenTextFile("your_object1.txt", ForWriting, true)
f1.Write(getAsText(obj, "\t"));
f1.Close();
f2 = fso.OpenTextFile("your_object2.txt", ForWriting, true)
f2.Write(getAsText(obj, "\t", true));
f2.Close();
your_object1.txt:
{
"str" : "hello" ,
"arr" : [
"1" ,
"2" ,
"3" ,
4
],
"b" : true,
"vobj" : {
"str" : "hello2"
}
}
your_object2.txt:
{ /* typeobj: object*/
"str" : "hello" /* typeobj: string*/,
"arr" : [ /* typeobj: object*/
"1" /* typeobj: string*/,
"2" /* typeobj: string*/,
"3" /* typeobj: string*/,
4/* typeobj: number*/
],
"b" : true/* typeobj: boolean*/,
"vobj" : { /* typeobj: object*/
"str" : "hello2" /* typeobj: string*/
}
}

For your example, I think
console.log("Item:",o)
would be easiest. But,
console.log("Item:" + o.toString)
would also work.
Using method number one uses a nice dropdown in the console, so a long object would work nicely.

I hope this example will help for all those who all are working on array of objects
var data_array = [{
"id": "0",
"store": "ABC"
},{
"id":"1",
"store":"XYZ"
}];
console.log(String(data_array[1]["id"]+data_array[1]["store"]));

If you wont aplay join() to Object.
const obj = {one:1, two:2, three:3};
let arr = [];
for(let p in obj)
arr.push(obj[p]);
const str = arr.join(',');

How to "join" dictionary elements

Suppose that I have the following dictionary:
var d = {
'foo': 0,
'bar': 1
};
How can I easily convert it to string like this?
foo=0&bar=1
Is there any built-in methods that can help me with it?

Not sure about built-in methods, but you can simply do
Object.keys( d ).map( function(key){ return key+"="+d[key] }).join("&") //outputs "foo=0&bar=1"

If you are using jQuery use $.param(data, true);
Or, For pure javascript you can use
function serialize(obj) {
var str = [];
for(var p in obj)
if (obj.hasOwnProperty(p)) {
str.push(encodeURIComponent(p) + "=" + encodeURIComponent(obj[p]));
}
return str.join("&");
}
serialize(data);

var d = {
'foo': 0,
'bar': 1
};
var finalString = "";
for(var key in d){
finalString += key + "=" + d[key] + "&";
}
finalString = finalString.slice(0, -1);
console.log(finalString);

Use a reducer function:
var obj = {
'foo': 0,
'bar': 1
};
var str = Object.keys(obj).reduce(function(acc, key, index) {
return acc + (index === 0 ? '' : '&') + key + '=' + obj[key];
}, '');
console.log(str) // => 'foo=0&bar=1'
Check the working example.

You can achieve this with the reduce method (since you are "reducing" the values of the object to a single string.
A concise ES6 example might look like this:
Object.keys(d).reduce((a,b,i) => `${a}${i ? '&':''}${b}=${d[b]}`,'')

Convert javascript object to URL parameters

I realize that fundamentally I'm probably going about this the wrong way so I'm open to any pushes in the right direction.
I'm trying to use the HipChat API to send a notification to a room like so:
https://www.hipchat.com/docs/api/method/rooms/message
I'm trying to build the URL in the example with a js object's parameters, so basically I'm trying to convert this:
var hipChatSettings = {
format:"json",
auth_token:token,
room_id: 1,
from: "Notifications",
message: "Message"
}
To this:
https://api.hipchat.com/v1/rooms/message?format=json&auth_token=token&room_id=1&from=Notifications&message=Message

You should check this jQuery.param function.
var params = { width:1680, height:1050 };
var str = jQuery.param( params );
console.log(str);
<script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/2.1.1/jquery.min.js"></script>

Object.keys(hipChatSettings).map(function(k) {
return encodeURIComponent(k) + "=" + encodeURIComponent(hipChatSettings[k]);
}).join('&')
// => "format=json&auth_token=token&room_id=1&from=Notifications&message=Message"
Warning: newish JavaScript. If you want it to work on ancients, shim or rewrite into for.

Something like this could work for you
var str = "?" + Object.keys(hipChatSettings).map(function(prop) {
return [prop, hipChatSettings[prop]].map(encodeURIComponent).join("=");
}).join("&");
// "?format=json&auth_token=token&room_id=1&from=Notifications&message=Message"
If you can't depend on ECMAScript 5, you can use a simple for loop
var pairs = [];
for (var prop in hipChatSettings) {
if (hipChatSettings.hasOwnProperty(prop)) {
var k = encodeURIComponent(prop),
v = encodeURIComponent(hipChatSettings[prop]);
pairs.push( k + "=" + v);
}
}
var str = "?" + pairs.join("&");

ES6 version, can do really nested objects with arrays
encodeURI(getUrlString({a: 1, b: [true, 12.3, "string"]}))
getUrlString (params, keys = [], isArray = false) {
const p = Object.keys(params).map(key => {
let val = params[key]
if ("[object Object]" === Object.prototype.toString.call(val) || Array.isArray(val)) {
if (Array.isArray(params)) {
keys.push("")
} else {
keys.push(key)
}
return getUrlString(val, keys, Array.isArray(val))
} else {
let tKey = key
if (keys.length > 0) {
const tKeys = isArray ? keys : [...keys, key]
tKey = tKeys.reduce((str, k) => { return "" === str ? k : `${str}[${k}]` }, "")
}
if (isArray) {
return `${ tKey }[]=${ val }`
} else {
return `${ tKey }=${ val }`
}
}
}).join('&')
keys.pop()
return p
}

Late to the dance but I quite enjoyed the brevity of this:
Object.entries(hipChatSettings)
.map(
([key, val]) => `${encodeURIComponent(key)}=${encodeURIComponent(val)}`
)
.join("&");

Converting an object to a string

How can I convert a JavaScript object into a string?
Example:
var o = {a:1, b:2}
console.log(o)
console.log('Item: ' + o)
Output:
Object { a=1, b=2} // very nice readable output :)
Item: [object Object] // no idea what's inside :(

I would recommend using JSON.stringify, which converts the set of the variables in the object to a JSON string.
var obj = {
name: 'myObj'
};
JSON.stringify(obj);
Most modern browsers support this method natively, but for those that don't, you can include a JS version.

Use javascript String() function
String(yourobject); //returns [object Object]
or stringify()
JSON.stringify(yourobject)

Sure, to convert an object into a string, you either have to use your own method, such as:
function objToString (obj) {
var str = '';
for (var p in obj) {
if (Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty.call(obj, p)) {
str += p + '::' + obj[p] + '\n';
}
}
return str;
}
Actually, the above just shows the general approach; you may wish to use something like http://phpjs.org/functions/var_export:578 or http://phpjs.org/functions/var_dump:604
or, if you are not using methods (functions as properties of your object), you may be able to use the new standard (but not implemented in older browsers, though you can find a utility to help with it for them too), JSON.stringify(). But again, that won't work if the object uses functions or other properties which aren't serializable to JSON.
Update:
A more modern solution would be:
function objToString (obj) {
let str = '';
for (const [p, val] of Object.entries(obj)) {
str += `${p}::${val}\n`;
}
return str;
}
or:
function objToString (obj) {
return Object.entries(obj).reduce((str, [p, val]) => {
return `${str}${p}::${val}\n`;
}, '');
}

Keeping it simple with console, you can just use a comma instead of a +. The + will try to convert the object into a string, whereas the comma will display it separately in the console.
Example:
var o = {a:1, b:2};
console.log(o);
console.log('Item: ' + o);
console.log('Item: ', o); // :)
Output:
Object { a=1, b=2} // useful
Item: [object Object] // not useful
Item: Object {a: 1, b: 2} // Best of both worlds! :)
Reference: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Console.log

EDIT Do not use this answer as it works only in some versions of Firefox. No other browsers support it. Use Gary Chambers solution.
toSource() is the function you are looking for which will write it out as JSON.
var object = {};
object.first = "test";
object.second = "test2";
alert(object.toSource());

One option:
console.log('Item: ' + JSON.stringify(o));
Another option (as soktinpk pointed out in the comments), and better for console debugging IMO:
console.log('Item: ', o);

None of the solutions here worked for me. JSON.stringify seems to be what a lot of people say, but it cuts out functions and seems pretty broken for some objects and arrays I tried when testing it.
I made my own solution which works in Chrome at least. Posting it here so anyone that looks this up on Google can find it.
//Make an object a string that evaluates to an equivalent object
// Note that eval() seems tricky and sometimes you have to do
// something like eval("a = " + yourString), then use the value
// of a.
//
// Also this leaves extra commas after everything, but JavaScript
// ignores them.
function convertToText(obj) {
//create an array that will later be joined into a string.
var string = [];
//is object
// Both arrays and objects seem to return "object"
// when typeof(obj) is applied to them. So instead
// I am checking to see if they have the property
// join, which normal objects don't have but
// arrays do.
if (typeof(obj) == "object" && (obj.join == undefined)) {
string.push("{");
for (prop in obj) {
string.push(prop, ": ", convertToText(obj[prop]), ",");
};
string.push("}");
//is array
} else if (typeof(obj) == "object" && !(obj.join == undefined)) {
string.push("[")
for(prop in obj) {
string.push(convertToText(obj[prop]), ",");
}
string.push("]")
//is function
} else if (typeof(obj) == "function") {
string.push(obj.toString())
//all other values can be done with JSON.stringify
} else {
string.push(JSON.stringify(obj))
}
return string.join("")
}
EDIT: I know this code can be improved but just never got around to doing it. User andrey suggested an improvement here with the comment:
Here is a little bit changed code, which can handle 'null' and 'undefined', and also do not add excessive commas.
Use that at your own risk as I haven't verified it at all. Feel free to suggest any additional improvements as a comment.

If you're just outputting to the console, you can use console.log('string:', obj). Notice the comma.

In cases where you know the object is just a Boolean, Date, String, number etc... The javascript String() function works just fine. I recently found this useful in dealing with values coming from jquery's $.each function.
For example the following would convert all items in "value" to a string:
$.each(this, function (name, value) {
alert(String(value));
});
More details here:
http://www.w3schools.com/jsref/jsref_string.asp

I was looking for this, and wrote a deep recursive one with indentation :
function objToString(obj, ndeep) {
if(obj == null){ return String(obj); }
switch(typeof obj){
case "string": return '"'+obj+'"';
case "function": return obj.name || obj.toString();
case "object":
var indent = Array(ndeep||1).join('\t'), isArray = Array.isArray(obj);
return '{['[+isArray] + Object.keys(obj).map(function(key){
return '\n\t' + indent + key + ': ' + objToString(obj[key], (ndeep||1)+1);
}).join(',') + '\n' + indent + '}]'[+isArray];
default: return obj.toString();
}
}
Usage : objToString({ a: 1, b: { c: "test" } })

var obj={
name:'xyz',
Address:'123, Somestreet'
}
var convertedString=JSON.stringify(obj)
console.log("literal object is",obj ,typeof obj);
console.log("converted string :",convertedString);
console.log(" convertedString type:",typeof convertedString);

There is actually one easy option (for recent browsers and Node.js) missing in the existing answers:
console.log('Item: %o', o);
I would prefer this as JSON.stringify() has certain limitations (e.g. with circular structures).

If you just want to see the object for debugging, you can use
var o = {a:1, b:2}
console.dir(o)

1.
JSON.stringify(o);
Item: {"a":"1", "b":"2"}
2.
var o = {a:1, b:2};
var b=[]; Object.keys(o).forEach(function(k){b.push(k+":"+o[k]);});
b="{"+b.join(', ')+"}";
console.log('Item: ' + b);
Item: {a:1, b:2}

It appears JSON accept the second parameter that could help with functions - replacer, this solves the issue of converting in the most elegant way:
JSON.stringify(object, (key, val) => {
if (typeof val === 'function') {
return String(val);
}
return val;
});

JSON methods are quite inferior to the Gecko engine .toSource() primitive.
See the SO article response for comparison tests.
Also, the answer above refers to http://forums.devshed.com/javascript-development-115/tosource-with-arrays-in-ie-386109.html which, like JSON, (which the other article http://www.davidpirek.com/blog/object-to-string-how-to-deserialize-json uses via "ExtJs JSON encode source code") cannot handle circular references and is incomplete. The code below shows it's (spoof's) limitations (corrected to handle arrays and objects without content).
(direct link to code in //forums.devshed.com/ ... /tosource-with-arrays-in-ie-386109)
javascript:
Object.prototype.spoof=function(){
if (this instanceof String){
return '(new String("'+this.replace(/"/g, '\\"')+'"))';
}
var str=(this instanceof Array)
? '['
: (this instanceof Object)
? '{'
: '(';
for (var i in this){
if (this[i] != Object.prototype.spoof) {
if (this instanceof Array == false) {
str+=(i.match(/\W/))
? '"'+i.replace('"', '\\"')+'":'
: i+':';
}
if (typeof this[i] == 'string'){
str+='"'+this[i].replace('"', '\\"');
}
else if (this[i] instanceof Date){
str+='new Date("'+this[i].toGMTString()+'")';
}
else if (this[i] instanceof Array || this[i] instanceof Object){
str+=this[i].spoof();
}
else {
str+=this[i];
}
str+=', ';
}
};
str=/* fix */(str.length>2?str.substring(0, str.length-2):str)/* -ed */+(
(this instanceof Array)
? ']'
: (this instanceof Object)
? '}'
: ')'
);
return str;
};
for(i in objRA=[
[ 'Simple Raw Object source code:',
'[new Array, new Object, new Boolean, new Number, ' +
'new String, new RegExp, new Function, new Date]' ] ,
[ 'Literal Instances source code:',
'[ [], {}, true, 1, "", /./, function(){}, new Date() ]' ] ,
[ 'some predefined entities:',
'[JSON, Math, null, Infinity, NaN, ' +
'void(0), Function, Array, Object, undefined]' ]
])
alert([
'\n\n\ntesting:',objRA[i][0],objRA[i][1],
'\n.toSource()',(obj=eval(objRA[i][1])).toSource(),
'\ntoSource() spoof:',obj.spoof()
].join('\n'));
which displays:
testing:
Simple Raw Object source code:
[new Array, new Object, new Boolean, new Number, new String,
new RegExp, new Function, new Date]
.toSource()
[[], {}, (new Boolean(false)), (new Number(0)), (new String("")),
/(?:)/, (function anonymous() {}), (new Date(1303248037722))]
toSource() spoof:
[[], {}, {}, {}, (new String("")),
{}, {}, new Date("Tue, 19 Apr 2011 21:20:37 GMT")]
and
testing:
Literal Instances source code:
[ [], {}, true, 1, "", /./, function(){}, new Date() ]
.toSource()
[[], {}, true, 1, "", /./, (function () {}), (new Date(1303248055778))]
toSource() spoof:
[[], {}, true, 1, ", {}, {}, new Date("Tue, 19 Apr 2011 21:20:55 GMT")]
and
testing:
some predefined entities:
[JSON, Math, null, Infinity, NaN, void(0), Function, Array, Object, undefined]
.toSource()
[JSON, Math, null, Infinity, NaN, (void 0),
function Function() {[native code]}, function Array() {[native code]},
function Object() {[native code]}, (void 0)]
toSource() spoof:
[{}, {}, null, Infinity, NaN, undefined, {}, {}, {}, undefined]

For non-nested objects:
Object.entries(o).map(x=>x.join(":")).join("\r\n")

stringify-object is a good npm library made by the yeoman team: https://www.npmjs.com/package/stringify-object
npm install stringify-object
then:
const stringifyObject = require('stringify-object');
stringifyObject(myCircularObject);
Obviously it's interesting only if you have circular object that would fail with JSON.stringify();

As firefox does not stringify some object as screen object ; if you want to have the same result such as : JSON.stringify(obj) :
function objToString (obj) {
var tabjson=[];
for (var p in obj) {
if (obj.hasOwnProperty(p)) {
tabjson.push('"'+p +'"'+ ':' + obj[p]);
}
} tabjson.push()
return '{'+tabjson.join(',')+'}';
}

If you only care about strings, objects, and arrays:
function objectToString (obj) {
var str = '';
var i=0;
for (var key in obj) {
if (obj.hasOwnProperty(key)) {
if(typeof obj[key] == 'object')
{
if(obj[key] instanceof Array)
{
str+= key + ' : [ ';
for(var j=0;j<obj[key].length;j++)
{
if(typeof obj[key][j]=='object') {
str += '{' + objectToString(obj[key][j]) + (j > 0 ? ',' : '') + '}';
}
else
{
str += '\'' + obj[key][j] + '\'' + (j > 0 ? ',' : ''); //non objects would be represented as strings
}
}
str+= ']' + (i > 0 ? ',' : '')
}
else
{
str += key + ' : { ' + objectToString(obj[key]) + '} ' + (i > 0 ? ',' : '');
}
}
else {
str +=key + ':\'' + obj[key] + '\'' + (i > 0 ? ',' : '');
}
i++;
}
}
return str;
}

maybe you are looking for
JSON.stringify(JSON.stringify(obj))
"{\"id\":30}"

Take a look at the jQuery-JSON plugin
At its core, it uses JSON.stringify but falls back to its own parser if the browser doesn't implement it.

If you can use lodash you can do it this way:
> var o = {a:1, b:2};
> '{' + _.map(o, (value, key) => key + ':' + value).join(', ') + '}'
'{a:1, b:2}'
With lodash map() you can iterate over Objects as well.
This maps every key/value entry to its string representation:
> _.map(o, (value, key) => key + ':' + value)
[ 'a:1', 'b:2' ]
And join() put the array entries together.
If you can use ES6 Template String, this works also:
> `{${_.map(o, (value, key) => `${key}:${value}`).join(', ')}}`
'{a:1, b:2}'
Please note this do not goes recursive through the Object:
> var o = {a:1, b:{c:2}}
> _.map(o, (value, key) => `${key}:${value}`)
[ 'a:1', 'b:[object Object]' ]
Like node's util.inspect() will do:
> util.inspect(o)
'{ a: 1, b: { c: 2 } }'

function objToString (obj) {
var str = '{';
if(typeof obj=='object')
{
for (var p in obj) {
if (obj.hasOwnProperty(p)) {
str += p + ':' + objToString (obj[p]) + ',';
}
}
}
else
{
if(typeof obj=='string')
{
return '"'+obj+'"';
}
else
{
return obj+'';
}
}
return str.substring(0,str.length-1)+"}";
}

var o = {a:1, b:2};
o.toString=function(){
return 'a='+this.a+', b='+this.b;
};
console.log(o);
console.log('Item: ' + o);
Since Javascript v1.0 works everywhere (even IE)
this is a native approach and allows for a very costomised look of your object while debugging and in production
https://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Object/toString
Usefull example
var Ship=function(n,x,y){
this.name = n;
this.x = x;
this.y = y;
};
Ship.prototype.toString=function(){
return '"'+this.name+'" located at: x:'+this.x+' y:'+this.y;
};
alert([new Ship('Star Destroyer', 50.001, 53.201),
new Ship('Millennium Falcon', 123.987, 287.543),
new Ship('TIE fighter', 83.060, 102.523)].join('\n'));//now they can battle!
//"Star Destroyer" located at: x:50.001 y:53.201
//"Millennium Falcon" located at: x:123.987 y:287.543
//"TIE fighter" located at: x:83.06 y:102.523
Also, as a bonus
function ISO8601Date(){
return this.getFullYear()+'-'+(this.getMonth()+1)+'-'+this.getDate();
}
var d=new Date();
d.toString=ISO8601Date;//demonstrates altering native object behaviour
alert(d);
//IE6 Fri Jul 29 04:21:26 UTC+1200 2016
//FF&GC Fri Jul 29 2016 04:21:26 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
//d.toString=ISO8601Date; 2016-7-29

Circular References
By using below replacer we can produce less redundant JSON - if source object contains multi-references to some object, or contains circular references - then we reference it by special path-string (similar to JSONPath) - we use it as follows
let s = JSON.stringify(obj, refReplacer());
function refReplacer() {
let m = new Map(), v= new Map(), init = null;
return function(field, value) {
let p= m.get(this) + (Array.isArray(this) ? `[${field}]` : '.' + field);
let isComplex= value===Object(value)
if (isComplex) m.set(value, p);
let pp = v.get(value)||'';
let path = p.replace(/undefined\.\.?/,'');
let val = pp ? `#REF:${pp[0]=='[' ? '$':'$.'}${pp}` : value;
!init ? (init=value) : (val===init ? val="#REF:$" : 0);
if(!pp && isComplex) v.set(value, path);
return val;
}
}
// ---------------
// TEST
// ---------------
// gen obj with duplicate references
let a = { a1: 1, a2: 2 };
let b = { b1: 3, b2: "4" };
let obj = { o1: { o2: a }, b, a }; // duplicate reference
a.a3 = [1,2,b]; // circular reference
b.b3 = a; // circular reference
let s = JSON.stringify(obj, refReplacer(), 4);
console.log(s);
BONUS: and here is inverse function of such serialisation
function parseRefJSON(json) {
let objToPath = new Map();
let pathToObj = new Map();
let o = JSON.parse(json);
let traverse = (parent, field) => {
let obj = parent;
let path = '#REF:$';
if (field !== undefined) {
obj = parent[field];
path = objToPath.get(parent) + (Array.isArray(parent) ? `[${field}]` : `${field?'.'+field:''}`);
}
objToPath.set(obj, path);
pathToObj.set(path, obj);
let ref = pathToObj.get(obj);
if (ref) parent[field] = ref;
for (let f in obj) if (obj === Object(obj)) traverse(obj, f);
}
traverse(o);
return o;
}
// ------------
// TEST
// ------------
let s = `{
"o1": {
"o2": {
"a1": 1,
"a2": 2,
"a3": [
1,
2,
{
"b1": 3,
"b2": "4",
"b3": "#REF:$.o1.o2"
}
]
}
},
"b": "#REF:$.o1.o2.a3[2]",
"a": "#REF:$.o1.o2"
}`;
console.log('Open Chrome console to see nested fields:');
let obj = parseRefJSON(s);
console.log(obj);

/*
This function is as JSON.Stringify (but if you has not in your js-engine you can use this)
Params:
obj - your object
inc_ident - can be " " or "\t".
show_types - show types of object or not
ident - need for recoursion but you can not set this parameter.
*/
function getAsText(obj, inc_ident, show_types, ident) {
var res = "";
if (!ident)
ident = "";
if (typeof(obj) == "string") {
res += "\"" + obj + "\" ";
res += (show_types == true) ? "/* typeobj: " + typeof(obj) + "*/" : "";
} else if (typeof(obj) == "number" || typeof(obj) == "boolean") {
res += obj;
res += (show_types == true) ? "/* typeobj: " + typeof(obj) + "*/" : "";
} else if (obj instanceof Array) {
res += "[ ";
res += show_types ? "/* typeobj: " + typeof(obj) + "*/" : "";
res += "\r\n";
var new_ident = ident + inc_ident;
var arr = [];
for(var key in obj) {
arr.push(new_ident + getAsText(obj[key], inc_ident, show_types, new_ident));
}
res += arr.join(",\r\n") + "\r\n";
res += ident + "]";
} else {
var new_ident = ident + inc_ident;
res += "{ ";
res += (show_types == true) ? "/* typeobj: " + typeof(obj) + "*/" : "";
res += "\r\n";
var arr = [];
for(var key in obj) {
arr.push(new_ident + '"' + key + "\" : " + getAsText(obj[key], inc_ident, show_types, new_ident));
}
res += arr.join(",\r\n") + "\r\n";
res += ident + "}\r\n";
}
return res;
};
example to use:
var obj = {
str : "hello",
arr : ["1", "2", "3", 4],
b : true,
vobj : {
str : "hello2"
}
}
var ForReading = 1, ForWriting = 2;
var fso = new ActiveXObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
f1 = fso.OpenTextFile("your_object1.txt", ForWriting, true)
f1.Write(getAsText(obj, "\t"));
f1.Close();
f2 = fso.OpenTextFile("your_object2.txt", ForWriting, true)
f2.Write(getAsText(obj, "\t", true));
f2.Close();
your_object1.txt:
{
"str" : "hello" ,
"arr" : [
"1" ,
"2" ,
"3" ,
4
],
"b" : true,
"vobj" : {
"str" : "hello2"
}
}
your_object2.txt:
{ /* typeobj: object*/
"str" : "hello" /* typeobj: string*/,
"arr" : [ /* typeobj: object*/
"1" /* typeobj: string*/,
"2" /* typeobj: string*/,
"3" /* typeobj: string*/,
4/* typeobj: number*/
],
"b" : true/* typeobj: boolean*/,
"vobj" : { /* typeobj: object*/
"str" : "hello2" /* typeobj: string*/
}
}

For your example, I think
console.log("Item:",o)
would be easiest. But,
console.log("Item:" + o.toString)
would also work.
Using method number one uses a nice dropdown in the console, so a long object would work nicely.

I hope this example will help for all those who all are working on array of objects
var data_array = [{
"id": "0",
"store": "ABC"
},{
"id":"1",
"store":"XYZ"
}];
console.log(String(data_array[1]["id"]+data_array[1]["store"]));

If you wont aplay join() to Object.
const obj = {one:1, two:2, three:3};
let arr = [];
for(let p in obj)
arr.push(obj[p]);
const str = arr.join(',');