Incorrect Data Type Handling in json-enc Extension

[xehrad]

Hello,
I’ve noticed that the json-enc extension currently encodes all input values as strings, even when dealing with <input type="number"> fields. This behavior can lead to incorrect data representation in the resulting JSON when numeric values are expected.

To maintain backward compatibility while providing flexibility, I propose introducing an optional attribute (e.g., data-json-parse-data) that allows users to opt-in to automatic type parsing. When this attribute is present on the <form> element, the extension could:

1. Convert values from <input type="number"> into actual numbers using Number().
2. Keep the current behavior (encoding everything as strings) when the attribute is not present.

Example usage:

<form hx-ext="json-enc" hx-post="/api/endpoint" data-json-parse-data>  
  <input type="text" name="name" value="mehrad">  
  <input type="number" name="age" value="25">  
</form>

Expected JSON output with data-json-parse-data attribute:

{ "name": "mehrad", "age": 25 }

Without the attribute, the JSON output would remain:

{ "name": "mehrad", "age": "25" }

Would this feature be acceptable as a non-breaking enhancement? If you believe it’s a good idea, I would be happy to submit a PR for it.

Thanks in advance for your feedback!

[Telroshan]

Hey, first of all you might be interested in the issues bigskysoftware/htmx#1870 bigskysoftware/htmx#2401 where many people shared their opinions & some implementation examples on this matter
Long story short ; we won't break backwards compatibility so this can't be a default, therefore your idea (fixing this at the extension level, and making it opt-in) sounds good to me!

Also, depending on your preferences, you may even consider making another entirely separate extension (something like json-enc-typed or whatever) that would, since it'd be a new extension thus not cause any backwards compatibility issue, not even need an extra attribute and enforce types by default.
See the json-enc-custom community extension that is already listed in our community extensions list as an example

[Telroshan]

Transferring this issue to the extensions repo btw