api/macros/json_diagnostics.md

# JSON_DIAGNOSTICS

```cpp
#define JSON_DIAGNOSTICS /* value */
```

This macro enables [extended diagnostics for exception messages](../../home/exceptions.md#extended-diagnostic-messages).
Possible values are `1` to enable or `0` to disable (default).

When enabled, exception messages contain a [JSON Pointer](../json_pointer/json_pointer.md) to the JSON value that
triggered the exception. Note that enabling this macro increases the size of every JSON value by one pointer and adds
some runtime overhead.

## Default definition

The default value is `0` (extended diagnostics are switched off).

```cpp
#define JSON_DIAGNOSTICS 0
```

When the macro is not defined, the library will define it to its default value.

## Notes

!!! note "ABI compatibility"

    As of version 3.11.0, this macro is no longer required to be defined consistently throughout a codebase to avoid
    One Definition Rule (ODR) violations, as the value of this macro is encoded in the namespace, resulting in distinct
    symbol names. 
    
    This allows different parts of a codebase to use different versions or configurations of this library without
    causing improper behavior.
    
    Where possible, it is still recommended that all code define this the same way for maximum interoperability.

!!! hint "CMake option"

    Diagnostic messages can also be controlled with the CMake option
    [`JSON_Diagnostics`](../../integration/cmake.md#json_diagnostics) (`OFF` by default)
    which defines `JSON_DIAGNOSTICS` accordingly. Note this only applies when building the
    library from source — see the pre-installed-package caveat on that page.

## Examples

??? example "Example 1: default behavior"

    ```cpp
    --8<-- "examples/diagnostics_standard.cpp"
    ```
    
    Output:

    ```
    --8<-- "examples/diagnostics_standard.output"
    ```

    This exception can be hard to debug if storing the value `#!c "12"` and accessing it is further apart.

??? example "Example 2: extended diagnostic messages"

    ```cpp
    --8<-- "examples/diagnostics_extended.cpp"
    ```
    
    Output:

    ```
    --8<-- "examples/diagnostics_extended.output"
    ```

    Now the exception message contains a JSON Pointer `/address/housenumber` that indicates which value has the wrong type.

??? example "Example 3: using only diagnostic positions in exceptions"

    ```cpp
    --8<-- "examples/diagnostic_positions_exception.cpp"
    ```
    
    Output:

    ```
    --8<-- "examples/diagnostic_positions_exception.output"
    ```    
        The output shows the exception with start/end positions only.

## See also

- [:simple-cmake: JSON_Diagnostics](../../integration/cmake.md#json_diagnostics) - CMake option to control the macro
- [JSON_DIAGNOSTIC_POSITIONS](json_diagnostic_positions.md) - macro to access positions of elements

## Version history

- Added in version 3.10.0.
- As of version 3.11.0, the definition is allowed to vary between translation units.