Amazon Redshift will no longer support the creation of new Python UDFs starting Patch 198. Existing Python UDFs will continue to function until June 30, 2026. For more information, see the [ blog post ](https://amazonaws-china.com/blogs/big-data/amazon-redshift-python-user-defined-functions-will-reach-end-of-support-after-june-30-2026/). 

# IS\$1VALID\$1JSON\$1ARRAY function
IS\$1VALID\$1JSON\$1ARRAY

**Note**  
JSON\$1PARSE and its associated functions parse JSON values as SUPER, which Amazon Redshift parses more efficiently than VARCHAR.   
 Instead of using IS\$1VALID\$1JSON\$1ARRAY, we recommend that you parse your JSON strings using the [JSON\$1PARSE function](JSON_PARSE.md) to get a SUPER value. Then, use the [IS\$1ARRAY function](r_is_array.md) function to confirm that the array is properly formed. 

The IS\$1VALID\$1JSON\$1ARRAY function validates a JSON array. The function returns Boolean `true` if the array is properly formed JSON or `false` if the array is malformed. To validate a JSON string, use [IS\$1VALID\$1JSON function](IS_VALID_JSON.md)

For more information, see [JSON functions](json-functions.md). 

## Syntax
Syntax

```
IS_VALID_JSON_ARRAY('json_array') 
```

## Arguments
Arguments

 *json\$1array*  
A string or expression that evaluates to a JSON array.

## Return type
Return type

`BOOLEAN`

## Examples
Examples

To create a table and insert JSON strings for testing, use the following example.

```
CREATE TABLE test_json_arrays(id int IDENTITY(0,1), json_arrays VARCHAR);

-- Insert valid JSON array strings --
INSERT INTO test_json_arrays(json_arrays) 
VALUES('[]'), 
('["a","b"]'), 
('["a",["b",1,["c",2,3,null]]]');

-- Insert invalid JSON array strings --
INSERT INTO test_json_arrays(json_arrays) 
VALUES('{"a":1}'),
('a'),
('[1,2,]');
```

To validate the strings in the preceding example, use the following example.

```
SELECT json_arrays, IS_VALID_JSON_ARRAY(json_arrays) 
FROM test_json_arrays ORDER BY id;

+------------------------------+---------------------+
|         json_arrays          | is_valid_json_array |
+------------------------------+---------------------+
| []                           | true                |
| ["a","b"]                    | true                |
| ["a",["b",1,["c",2,3,null]]] | true                |
| {"a":1}                      | false               |
| a                            | false               |
| [1,2,]                       | false               |
+------------------------------+---------------------+
```