JSON tool input use cases for consideration

[danfuzz]

There are a lot of useful coordinates in the cross-product of:

• Source: {stdin, file named via commandline argument, content of commandline argument}
• Content: {parsed JSON document, text/binary blob, list of newline-separated strings, list of NUL-separated strings}
• Internal Destination: {single pipeline input, streamed multiple pipeline inputs, assigned variable}

Things that become pipeline input:

• Commandline arguments:
  • Single JSON document (e.g. quoted string).
  • Single literal string.
  • File name (including stdin) of a single JSON document.
  • File name (including stdin) of a concatenation of one or more JSON documents.
    • Presented as stream.
    • Presented as single array of all contents.
  • File name (including stdin) of a text or binary file.
    • Presented as a single string of the entire blob.
    • Parsed as newline-separated lines.
      • Presented as stream.
      • Presented as single array of all contents.
    • Parsed as NUL-separated lines.
      • Presented as stream.
      • Presented as single array of all contents.

Things that become assigned variables, defined via commandline arguments:

• JSON document.
• Literal string.
• Contents of named text or binary file.
  • Single string of the entire blob.
  • Parsed as newline-separated lines, presented as array of strings.
  • Parsed as NUL-separated lines, presented as array of strings.