stringify

Stringify is the process of converting a data structure, value, or object into a textual representation. It is a core operation in data serialization, logging, debugging, and inter-process communication, enabling structures to be stored or transmitted as strings.

In JavaScript, the prevailing standard library function is JSON.stringify, which converts a JavaScript object to a JSON-formatted string. It supports an optional replacer argument to filter or transform properties and a space argument to control indentation. Objects can implement a toJSON method to customize serialization. JSON.stringify omits functions and undefined values from properties and converts certain values to strings (for example, Date objects default to ISO date strings). It cannot serialize circular references without extra handling, and attempting to stringify a circular structure will throw an error unless a custom serializer is used.

Other languages have similar facilities, such as Python's json.dumps, Java's Jackson or Gson libraries, and C#'s JSON.NET. Many languages also provide a basic toString or stringification mechanism for display purposes, which may be lossy or non-structured.

Common considerations include choosing a format that balances readability and size, ensuring you can perform a round-trip deserialization if needed, and being mindful of privacy and security when logging or transmitting data. Plain-text stringification can lose type information and structure, so the choice of format and serializer should align with the intended use, such as human-readable logs versus machine-parseable interchange.