Allow any file that can be in YAML to also be in JSON. This is primarily done…

Allow any file that can be in YAML to also be in JSON.  This is primarily done to support non-visual editors better.

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ Major features/changes:
 
 * The deprecated legacy variable templating system has been finally removed.  Use {{ foo }} always not $foo or ${foo}.
 * Role dependencies are now tracked across multiple plays, making common roles easier to include in dependencies without any special variable tricks.
+* Any data file can also be JSON.  Use sparingly -- with great power comes great responsibility.  Starting file with "{" or "[" denotes JSON.
 
 New Modules:
 

lib/ansible/utils/__init__.py

@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ import traceback
 import getpass
 import sys
 import textwrap
+import json
 
 #import vault
 from vault import VaultLib
@@ -351,7 +352,16 @@ def smush_ds(data):
         return data
 
 def parse_yaml(data):
-    ''' convert a yaml string to a data structure '''
+    ''' convert a yaml string to a data structure.  Also supports JSON, ssssssh!!!'''
+
+    data = data.lstrip()
+    if data.startswith("{") or data.startswith("["):
+        # since the line starts with { or [ we can infer this is a JSON document.
+        loaded = json.loads(data)
+    else:
+        # else this is pretty sure to be a YAML document
+        loaded = yaml.safe_load(data)
+
     return smush_ds(yaml.safe_load(data))
 
 def process_common_errors(msg, probline, column):