unless defined?(::JSON::JSON_LOADED) and ::JSON::JSON_LOADED
  require 'json'
end

# Symbol serialization/deserialization
class Symbol
  # Returns a hash, that will be turned into a JSON object and represent this
  # object.
  def as_json(*)
    {
      JSON.create_id => self.class.name,
      's'            => to_s,
    }
  end

  # Stores class name (Symbol) with String representation of Symbol as a JSON string.
  def to_json(*a)
    as_json.to_json(*a)
  end

  # Deserializes JSON string by converting the <tt>string</tt> value stored in the object to a Symbol
  def self.json_create(o)
    o['s'].to_sym
  end
end