Safely turning a JSON string into an object

This answer is for IE < 7, for modern browsers check Jonathan's answer above.

This answer is outdated and Jonathan's answer above (JSON.parse(jsonString)) is now the best answer.

JSON.org has JSON parsers for many languages including four different ones for JavaScript. I believe most people would consider json2.js their goto implementation.

JSON.parse(jsonString) is a pure JavaScript approach so long as you can guarantee a reasonably modern browser.

The jQuery method is now deprecated. Use this method instead:

let jsonObject = JSON.parse(jsonString);

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Original answer using deprecated jQuery functionality:

If you're using jQuery just use:

jQuery.parseJSON( jsonString );

It's exactly what you're looking for (see the jQuery documentation).