JSLT 2.1.0

JSON transformation/templating engine

JSLT

JSLT is a JSON templating and transformation engine. It enables developers to declaratively map, filter, and reshape JSON data using pure JSON templates, powered by JMESPath for data extraction and a safe, stack-based execution model.

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📦 Installation

pip install jslt

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🚀 Quick Start

import json
from jslt import JSLT

data = {
    "users": [
        {"name": "Alice", "age": 25, "score": 88.5},
        {"name": "Bob", "age": 17, "score": 92.0}
    ],
    "threshold": 18
}

template = {
    # Extract only adult users
    "adults": {
      "jsl:each": {
        "path": "users",
        "template": {
          "jsl:if": {
            "test": "age >= root().threshold",
            "then": {
              "name": {
                "jsl:path": "name"
              }
            }
          }
        }
      }
    },
    
    # Extract only adult users using jmespath
    "adults_jpath": {
      "jsl:var": {
        "name": "threshold",
        "path": "threshold"
      },
      "jsl:each": {
        "path": "users[?age>var('threshold')]",
        "template": {
          "name": {
            "jsl:path": "name"
          }
        }
      }
    },
    
    # Find names with score > 90
    "top_scorers": {"jsl:path": "users[?score>`90`].name"},
    
    # Calculate average score
    "avg_score": {"jsl:eval": "round(sum(users['*'].score) / count(users), 2)"},
    
    # Calculate average score using jmespath
    "avg_score_jpath": {"jsl:path": "avg(users[*].score)"}
}

jslt = JSLT(template)
result = jslt.transform(data)
print(json.dumps(result, indent=2))

Output:

{
  "adults": [
    {
      "name": "Alice"
    }
  ],
  "adults_jpath": [
    {
      "name": "Alice"
    }
  ],
  "top_scorers": [
    "Bob"
  ],
  "avg_score": 90.25,
  "avg_score_jpath": 90.25
}

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🔑 Core Features

• JMESPath Integration: Leverage full JMESPath syntax for powerful data extraction and filtering.
• Custom DSL Functions: Transform data using internal functions (jsl:var, jsl:if, jsl:each, jsl:keep, jsl:eval, jsl:path).
• Stack-Based Iteration: Uses an iterative stack engine to process templates, completely avoiding Python recursion limits.
• Safe Expression Evaluation: Math and logic expressions are evaluated securely via simple_eval(), preventing arbitrary code execution.

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📝 Template DSL & Syntax

Templates are standard JSON objects. Each key defines an output field, and its value contains transformation instructions.

🔹 JSL Functions

All operations are prefixed with jsl: (namespace). Object keys are passed to the function as named parameters. If the value is an array, the values are used as positional parameters. The engine provides the following functions:

Function	Description
jsl:var	Store intermediate values for reuse
jsl:if	Conditional branching ([test, then, other])
jsl:each	Iterate over arrays and apply child templates ([path, template])
jsl:keep	Instructs the engine to keep this object, even if it resolves to None
jsl:eval	Evaluate arithmetic/logic expressions
jsl:path	Resolve a JMESPath

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🧭 JMESPath custom functions

Custom functions are injected into JMESPath to provide additional functionality:

• Context Helpers:
  • root() → References the root node
  • parent() → Move up the data tree
  • current() → Reference the active node
  • var() → Gives access to previously defined variables
• Math:
  • multiply() → Multiply all values
• Text
  • strip() → Remove whitespace from string

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📜 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for details.