JSONs are widely recognised for their capability to store multiple values in a single variable. In ServiceNow, we frequently use JSONs in our scripts; however, there is also a dictionary data type available. This allows you to store a simplified version of JSON within a record in a table, organised as Name-Value pairs.
When you need to store data in a key-value pair format, rather than creating a separate many-to-many (m2m) table with just two columns, the ‘Name-Value Pairs‘ dictionary type can be a more efficient solution. A common use case for this could be storing rate cards within a task record.
Dictionary definition
Form view
Script usage
- GlideRecord.getValue(‘u_rate_cards’) will return a string JSON like
{"Engineer":"100","Executive":"60","Analyst":"50"}- GlideRecord.u_rate_cards.Engineer will return ‘100’
- GlideRecord.u_rate_cards.Analyst will return ’50’
- and so on…
The field value can be set in a similar manner.
nv = '{"Engineer":"100","Executive":"60","Analyst":"50"}';
GlideRecord.u_rate_cards = nv;
OR
GlideRecord.u_rate_cards.Engineer = "100";
GlideRecord.u_rate_cards.Executive = "60";
GlideRecord.u_rate_cards.Analyst = "50";Next steps
Familiarise yourself with this dictionary type and keep it in mind, as it could prove useful in the future when the need arises in your process.