Summary

Add support for JSON Merge Patch (RFC 7396) as a PATCH content type for JSON-LD resources.

Motivation

Currently JSS supports N3 Patch and SPARQL Update for PATCH operations, which are RDF-centric and verbose for simple field updates. JSON Merge Patch is a natural fit for JSON-LD resources:

PATCH /profile/card.jsonld
Content-Type: application/merge-patch+json

{"foaf:name": "New Name", "foaf:nick": "newnick"}

This merges the patch into the existing JSON-LD, updating only the specified fields.

Spec

• RFC 7396 — JSON Merge Patch
• Null values remove keys: {"foaf:nick": null} deletes the field
• Nested objects merge recursively
• Arrays are replaced, not merged

Implementation

In the PATCH handler (src/handlers/resource.js):

1. Check Content-Type: application/merge-patch+json
2. Read existing resource as JSON
3. Apply merge patch (recursive merge, ~10 lines)
4. Write back

Use cases

• Profile editing (update name, add links)
• Any JSON-LD resource field update
• Simpler alternative to N3 Patch for JSON-native clients