Swagger array of strings without name - arrays

Question

Currently I am trying to create a swagger file for my software.
Now I would like to create a definition for a timeRange.
My problem is that this array looks like this:
timeRange: {
"2016-01-15T09:00:00.000Z", // this is the start date
"2017-01-15T09:00:00.000Z" // this is the end date
}
How can I create an example value that works out of the box?
It is an "array of strings" with a minimum of two.
"timeRange": {
"type": "array",
"items": {
"type": "string",
"example": "2017-01-15T09:00:00.000Z,2017-01-15T09:00:00.000Z"
}
}
This generates an example like this:
"timeRange": [
"2017-01-15T09:00:00.000Z,2017-01-15T09:00:00.000Z"
]
This example does not work, because it is an array and not an object.
All together:
How can I realize an example value that exists out of two different strings (without a name).
Hope you can help me!
Cheers!

Answer 1

timeRange: {
"2016-01-15T09:00:00.000Z", // this is the start date
"2017-01-15T09:00:00.000Z" // this is the end date
}
is not valid JSON – "timeRange" needs to be enclosed in quotes, and the object/array syntax should be different.
If using the object syntax {}, the values need to be named properties:
"timeRange": {
"start_date": "2016-01-15T09:00:00.000Z",
"end_date": "2017-01-15T09:00:00.000Z"
}
Otherwise timeRange needs to be an [] array:
"timeRange": [
"2016-01-15T09:00:00.000Z",
"2017-01-15T09:00:00.000Z"
]
In the first example ({} object), your Swagger would look as follows, with a separate example for each named property:
"timeRange": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"start_date": {
"type": "string",
"format": "date-time",
"example": "2016-01-15T09:00:00.000Z"
},
"end_date": {
"type": "string",
"format": "date-time",
"example": "2017-01-15T09:00:00.000Z"
}
},
"required": ["start_date", "end_date"]
}
In case of an [] array, you can specify an array-level example that is a multi-item array:
"timeRange": {
"type": "array",
"items": {
"type": "string",
"format": "date-time"
},
"example": [
"2016-01-15T09:00:00.000Z",
"2017-01-15T09:00:00.000Z"
]
}