code: function convertRawVariant(rawColumnValue, column, context)
  {
    var ret;
  
    // if the input is a non-empty string, convert it to a json object
    if (Util.string.isNotNullOrEmpty(rawColumnValue))
    {
      try
      {
        ret = eval("(" + rawColumnValue + ")");
      }
      catch (parseError)
      {
        // TODO: log the error
  
        // throw the error
        throw parseError;
      }
    }
  
    return ret;
  }
docs: Converts a raw column value of type Variant to a JavaScript value.
  
  @param {String} rawColumnValue
  @param {Object} column
  @param {Object} context
  
  @returns {Object | Array}