I have produced the following sample block of JSON. Any value that ends with a letter is dynamic.
{
"groupName": {
"groupA": {
"fields": {
"fieldA": "valueA",
"fieldB": "valueB"
},
"letters": {
"letterA: "A"
}
},
"groupB": {
"fields": {
"fieldC": "valueC",
"fieldD": "valueD"
},
"letters": {
"letterB: "B"
}
}
}
}
My goal is to use Decodable so that I may read this data into structs that I have defined.
Below is my current work contained in a playground file that I am using to try and resolve this:
import Foundation
let jsonString = "{\"groupName\":{\"groupA\":{\"fields\":{\"fieldA\":\"valueA\",\"fieldB\":\"valueB\"},\"letters\":{\"letterA:\"A\"}},\"groupB\":{\"fields\":{\"fieldC\":\"valueC\",\"fieldD\":\"valueD\"},\"letters\":{\"letterB:\"B\"}}}}"
struct CustomCodingKeys: CodingKey {
var intValue: Int?
var stringValue: String
init?(intValue: Int) { self.intValue = intValue; self.stringValue = "\(intValue)" }
init?(stringValue: String) { self.stringValue = stringValue }
static let field = CustomCodingKeys.make(key: "field")
static func make(key: String) -> CustomCodingKeys {
return CustomCodingKeys(stringValue: key)!
}
}
// Values
struct Field {
let field: String
let value: String
}
struct Letter: Decodable {
let title: String
let letter: String
}
// Value holders
struct FieldData: Decodable {
var fields: [Field]
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
self.fields = [Field]()
let container = try decoder.container(keyedBy: CustomCodingKeys.self)
for key in container.allKeys {
print("processing field: \(key.stringValue)")
let dynamicKey = CustomCodingKeys.make(key: key.stringValue)
let value = try container.decode(String.self, forKey: dynamicKey)
let field = Field(field: key.stringValue,
value: value)
fields.append(field)
}
}
}
struct LetterData: Decodable {
var letters: [Letter]
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
self.letters = [Letter]()
let container = try decoder.container(keyedBy: CustomCodingKeys.self)
for key in container.allKeys {
print("processing letter: \(key.stringValue)")
let dynamicKey = CustomCodingKeys.make(key: key.stringValue)
let value = try container.decode(String.self, forKey: dynamicKey)
let letter = Letter(title: key.stringValue,
letter: value)
letters.append(letter)
}
}
}
// Containers
struct Group: Decodable {
var name: String!
var groups: [GroupData]
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
self.groups = [GroupData]()
let container = try decoder.container(keyedBy: CustomCodingKeys.self)
for key in container.allKeys {
print("processing section: \(key.stringValue)")
let group = try container.decode(GroupData.self,
forKey: key)
groups.append(group)
}
}
}
struct GroupData: Decodable {
var fieldData: FieldData
var letterData: LetterData
enum CodingKeys: String, CodingKey {
case fieldData = "fields"
case letterData = "letters"
}
}
struct GroupList: Decodable {
struct GroupName: Decodable {
var name: String!
var groups: [Group]
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
self.groups = [Group]()
let container = try decoder.container(keyedBy: CustomCodingKeys.self)
for key in container.allKeys {
let name = key.stringValue
self.name = name
print("processing group: \(String(describing: self.name))")
var group = try container.decode(Group.self,
forKey: key)
group.name = name
groups.append(group)
}
}
}
let groupName: GroupName
}
let decoder = JSONDecoder()
if let data = jsonString.data(using: .utf8),
let groupList = try? decoder.decode(GroupList.self,
from: data) {
print("group list created")
}
In my GroupData struct, I can drop the variables and then implement init(from decoder: Decoder) throws, which when configured with the proper lookups (the FieldData & LetterData inits), can identify the correct pairs. However, it does not populate the proper value structs.
You have small mistake in decoding Group. You tend to decode all keys for group inside Group and also you pass further the to decode GroupData which itself has "fields" and "letters". Use single value container inside Group and it should be fine.
Here is how your Group should look,
struct Group: Decodable {
var name: String!
var groups: GroupData
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
let container = try decoder.singleValueContainer()
groups = try container.decode(GroupData.self)
}
}
Note, your json itself is incorrect, I have formatted it and it should rather be like this,
let jsonString = "{\"groupName\":{\"groupA\":{\"fields\":{\"fieldA\":\"valueA\",\"fieldB\":\"valueB\"},\"letters\":{\"letterA\":\"A\"}},\"groupB\":{\"fields\":{\"fieldC\":\"valueC\",\"fieldD\":\"valueD\"},\"letters\":{\"letterB\":\"B\"}}}}"
Related
Say we've got a cursor based paginated API where multiple endpoints can be paginated. The response of such an endpoint is always as follows:
{
"nextCursor": "someString",
"PAYLOAD_KEY": <generic response>
}
So the payload always returns a cursor and the payload key depends on the actual endpoint we use. For example if we have GET /users it might be users and the value of the key be an array of objects or we could cal a GET /some-large-object and the key being item and the payload be an object.
Bottom line the response is always an object with a cursor and one other key and it's associated value.
Trying to make this generic in Swift I was thinking of this:
public struct Paginable<Body>: Codable where Body: Codable {
public let body: Body
public let cursor: String?
private enum CodingKeys: String, CodingKey {
case body, cursor
}
}
Now the only issue with this code is that it expects the Body to be accessible under the "body" key which isn't the case.
We could have a struct User: Codable and the paginable specialized as Paginable<[Users]> where the API response object would have the key users for the array.
My question is how can I make this generic Paginable struct work so that I can specify the JSON payload key from the Body type?
The simplest solution I can think of is to let the decoded Body to give you the decoding key:
protocol PaginableBody: Codable {
static var decodingKey: String { get }
}
struct RawCodingKey: CodingKey, Equatable {
let stringValue: String
let intValue: Int?
init(stringValue: String) {
self.stringValue = stringValue
intValue = nil
}
init(intValue: Int) {
stringValue = "\(intValue)"
self.intValue = intValue
}
}
struct Paginable<Body: PaginableBody>: Codable {
public let body: Body
public let cursor: String?
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
let container = try decoder.container(keyedBy: RawCodingKey.self)
body = try container.decode(Body.self, forKey: RawCodingKey(stringValue: Body.decodingKey))
cursor = try container.decodeIfPresent(String.self, forKey: RawCodingKey(stringValue: "nextCursor"))
}
}
For example:
let jsonString = """
{
"nextCursor": "someString",
"PAYLOAD_KEY": {}
}
"""
let jsonData = Data(jsonString.utf8)
struct SomeBody: PaginableBody {
static let decodingKey = "PAYLOAD_KEY"
}
let decoder = JSONDecoder()
let decoded = try? decoder.decode(Paginable<SomeBody>.self, from: jsonData)
print(decoded)
Another option is to always take the "other" non-cursor key as the body:
struct Paginable<Body: Codable>: Codable {
public let body: Body
public let cursor: String?
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
let container = try decoder.container(keyedBy: RawCodingKey.self)
let cursorKey = RawCodingKey(stringValue: "nextCursor")
cursor = try container.decodeIfPresent(String.self, forKey: cursorKey)
// ! should be replaced with proper decoding error thrown
let bodyKey = container.allKeys.first { $0 != cursorKey }!
body = try container.decode(Body.self, forKey: bodyKey)
}
}
Another possible option is to pass the decoding key directly to JSONDecoder inside userInfo and then access it inside init(from:). That would give you the biggest flexibility but you would have to specify it always during decoding.
You can use generic model with type erasing, for example
struct GenericInfo: Encodable {
init<T: Encodable>(name: String, params: T) {
valueEncoder = {
var container = $0.container(keyedBy: CodingKeys.self)
try container.encode(name, forKey: . name)
try container.encode(params, forKey: .params)
}
}
// MARK: Public
func encode(to encoder: Encoder) throws {
try valueEncoder(encoder)
}
// MARK: Internal
enum CodingKeys: String, CodingKey {
case name
case params
}
let valueEncoder: (Encoder) throws -> Void
}
I have an API that will sometimes return a specific key value (in this case id) in the JSON as an Int and other times it will return that same key value as a String. How do I use codable to parse that JSON?
struct GeneralProduct: Codable {
var price: Double!
var id: String?
var name: String!
private enum CodingKeys: String, CodingKey {
case price = "p"
case id = "i"
case name = "n"
}
init(price: Double? = nil, id: String? = nil, name: String? = nil) {
self.price = price
self.id = id
self.name = name
}
}
I keep getting this error message: Expected to decode String but found a number instead. The reason that it returns a number is because the id field is empty and when the id field is empty it defaults to returning 0 as an ID which codable identifies as a number. I can basically ignore the ID key but codable does not give me the option to ignore it to my knowledge. What would be the best way to handle this?
Here is the JSON. It is super simple
Working
{
"p":2.12,
"i":"3k3mkfnk3",
"n":"Blue Shirt"
}
Error - because there is no id in the system, it returns 0 as a default which codable obviously sees as a number opposed to string.
{
"p":2.19,
"i":0,
"n":"Black Shirt"
}
struct GeneralProduct: Codable {
var price: Double?
var id: String?
var name: String?
private enum CodingKeys: String, CodingKey {
case price = "p", id = "i", name = "n"
}
init(price: Double? = nil, id: String? = nil, name: String? = nil) {
self.price = price
self.id = id
self.name = name
}
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
let container = try decoder.container(keyedBy: CodingKeys.self)
price = try container.decode(Double.self, forKey: .price)
name = try container.decode(String.self, forKey: .name)
do {
id = try String(container.decode(Int.self, forKey: .id))
} catch DecodingError.typeMismatch {
id = try container.decode(String.self, forKey: .id)
}
}
}
let json1 = """
{
"p":2.12,
"i":"3k3mkfnk3",
"n":"Blue Shirt"
}
"""
let json2 = """
{
"p":2.12,
"i":0,
"n":"Blue Shirt"
}
"""
do {
let product = try JSONDecoder().decode(GeneralProduct.self, from: Data(json2.utf8))
print(product.price ?? "nil")
print(product.id ?? "nil")
print(product.name ?? "nil")
} catch {
print(error)
}
edit/update:
You can also simply assign nil to your id when your api returns 0:
do {
let value = try container.decode(Int.self, forKey: .id)
id = value == 0 ? nil : String(value)
} catch DecodingError.typeMismatch {
id = try container.decode(String.self, forKey: .id)
}
This is a possible solution with MetadataType, the nice thing is that can be a general solution not for GeneralProduct only, but for all the struct having the same ambiguity:
struct GeneralProduct: Codable {
var price:Double?
var id:MetadataType?
var name:String?
private enum CodingKeys: String, CodingKey {
case price = "p"
case id = "i"
case name = "n"
}
init(price:Double? = nil, id: MetadataType? = nil, name: String? = nil) {
self.price = price
self.id = id
self.name = name
}
}
enum MetadataType: Codable {
case int(Int)
case string(String)
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
let container = try decoder.singleValueContainer()
do {
self = try .int(container.decode(Int.self))
} catch DecodingError.typeMismatch {
do {
self = try .string(container.decode(String.self))
} catch DecodingError.typeMismatch {
throw DecodingError.typeMismatch(MetadataType.self, DecodingError.Context(codingPath: decoder.codingPath, debugDescription: "Encoded payload not of an expected type"))
}
}
}
func encode(to encoder: Encoder) throws {
var container = encoder.singleValueContainer()
switch self {
case .int(let int):
try container.encode(int)
case .string(let string):
try container.encode(string)
}
}
}
this is the test:
let decoder = JSONDecoder()
var json = "{\"p\":2.19,\"i\":0,\"n\":\"Black Shirt\"}"
var product = try! decoder.decode(GeneralProduct.self, from: json.data(using: .utf8)!)
if let id = product.id {
print(id) // 0
}
json = "{\"p\":2.19,\"i\":\"hello world\",\"n\":\"Black Shirt\"}"
product = try! decoder.decode(GeneralProduct.self, from: json.data(using: .utf8)!)
if let id = product.id {
print(id) // hello world
}
Seamlessly decoding from either Int or String into the same property requires writing some code.
However, thanks to a (somewhat) new addition to the language,(property wrappers), you can make it quite easy to reuse this logic wherever you need it:
// note this is only `Decodable`
struct GeneralProduct: Decodable {
var price: Double
#Flexible var id: Int // note this is an Int
var name: String
}
The property wrapper and its supporting code can be implemented like this:
#propertyWrapper struct Flexible<T: FlexibleDecodable>: Decodable {
var wrappedValue: T
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
wrappedValue = try T(container: decoder.singleValueContainer())
}
}
protocol FlexibleDecodable {
init(container: SingleValueDecodingContainer) throws
}
extension Int: FlexibleDecodable {
init(container: SingleValueDecodingContainer) throws {
if let int = try? container.decode(Int.self) {
self = int
} else if let string = try? container.decode(String.self), let int = Int(string) {
self = int
} else {
throw DecodingError.dataCorrupted(.init(codingPath: container.codingPath, debugDescription: "Invalid int value"))
}
}
}
Original answer
You can use a wrapper over a string that knows how to decode from any of the basic JSON data types: string, number, boolean:
struct RelaxedString: Codable {
let value: String
init(_ value: String) {
self.value = value
}
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
let container = try decoder.singleValueContainer()
// attempt to decode from all JSON primitives
if let str = try? container.decode(String.self) {
value = str
} else if let int = try? container.decode(Int.self) {
value = int.description
} else if let double = try? container.decode(Double.self) {
value = double.description
} else if let bool = try? container.decode(Bool.self) {
value = bool.description
} else {
throw DecodingError.typeMismatch(String.self, .init(codingPath: decoder.codingPath, debugDescription: ""))
}
}
func encode(to encoder: Encoder) throws {
var container = encoder.singleValueContainer()
try container.encode(value)
}
}
You can then use this new type in your struct. One minor disadvantage would be that consumer of the struct will need to make another indirection to access the wrapped string. However that can be avoided by declaring the decoded RelaxedString property as private, and use a computed one for the public interface:
struct GeneralProduct: Codable {
var price: Double!
var _id: RelaxedString?
var name: String!
var id: String? {
get { _id?.value }
set { _id = newValue.map(RelaxedString.init) }
}
private enum CodingKeys: String, CodingKey {
case price = "p"
case _id = "i"
case name = "n"
}
init(price: Double? = nil, id: String? = nil, name: String? = nil) {
self.price = price
self._id = id.map(RelaxedString.init)
self.name = name
}
}
Advantages of the above approach:
no need to write custom init(from decoder: Decoder) code, which can become tedious if the number of properties to be decoded increase
reusability - RelaxedString can be seamlessly used in other structs
the fact that the id can be decoded from a string or an int remains an implementation detail, consumers of GeneralProduct don't know/care that the id can come from a string or an int
the public interface exposes string values, which keeps the consumer code simple as it will not have to deal with multiple types of data
I created this Gist which has a ValueWrapper struct that can handle
the following types
case stringValue(String)
case intValue(Int)
case doubleValue(Double)
case boolValue(Bool)
https://gist.github.com/amrangry/89097b86514b3477cae79dd28bba3f23
Based on #Cristik 's answer, I come with another solution using #propertyWrapper.
#propertyWrapper
struct StringForcible: Codable {
var wrappedValue: String?
enum CodingKeys: CodingKey {}
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
let container = try decoder.singleValueContainer()
if let string = try? container.decode(String.self) {
wrappedValue = string
} else if let integer = try? container.decode(Int.self) {
wrappedValue = "\(integer)"
} else if let double = try? container.decode(Double.self) {
wrappedValue = "\(double)"
} else if container.decodeNil() {
wrappedValue = nil
}
else {
throw DecodingError.typeMismatch(String.self, .init(codingPath: container.codingPath, debugDescription: "Could not decode incoming value to String. It is not a type of String, Int or Double."))
}
}
func encode(to encoder: Encoder) throws {
var container = encoder.singleValueContainer()
try container.encode(wrappedValue)
}
init() {
self.wrappedValue = nil
}
}
And usage is
struct SomeDTO: Codable {
#StringForcible var id: String?
}
Also works like -I think-
struct AnotherDTO: Codable {
var some: SomeDTO?
}
I am having a little trouble constructing my Codable model correctly in swift. I have a json that can have dynamic id key values and one key value that I know is always the same. How do I deal with the dynamic id values? From my research, it looks like I need a custom decoder init, but I don't believe I am doing it 100% correctly. Thank you.
Example json:
{
"1f73433230": "Clark Kent",
"f1c3432fd6": "Batman",
"3d34457d69": "Wonder Woman",
"OTHER_ID": "Other"
}
Code
struct SuperHeroIds: Codable, Equatable {
let id: String
let otherId: String
enum CodingKeys: String, CodingKey {
case otherID = "OTHER_ID"
}
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
let container = try decoder.container(keyedBy: CodingKeys.self)
otherId = try container.decode(String.self, forKey: .otherID)
id = String()
???
}
}
I would prefer
let res = try JSONDecoder().decode([String:String].self, from:data)
You can use custom CodingKey
struct AnyKey: CodingKey {
enum Errors: Error {
case invalid
}
var stringValue: String
var intValue: Int?
init?(stringValue: String) {
self.stringValue = stringValue
self.intValue = Int(stringValue)
}
init?(intValue: Int) {
self.intValue = intValue
stringValue = "\(intValue)"
}
static func key(named name: String) throws -> Self {
guard let key = Self(stringValue: name) else {
throw Errors.invalid
}
return key
}
}
and decode in init(from decoder: Decoder) throws like so:
struct SuperHeroIds: Decodable, Equatable {
let id: String
let otherId: String
let idToHeroMap: [String:String]
enum CodingKeys: String, CodingKey, CaseIterable {
case otherID = "OTHER_ID"
}
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
let container = try decoder.container(keyedBy: CodingKeys.self)
otherId = try container.decode(String.self, forKey: .otherID)
id = String()
let heroContainer = try decoder.container(keyedBy: AnyKey.self)
// all keys that not decoded with CodingKeys
let decodedKeys = CodingKeys.allCases.map({ $0.rawValue })
let filteredKeys = heroContainer.allKeys.filter({ !decodedKeys.contains($0.stringValue) })
// fill idToHeroMap
var result = [String:String](minimumCapacity: filteredKeys.count)
for key in filteredKeys {
result[key.stringValue] = try heroContainer.decode(String.self, forKey: key)
}
self.idToHeroMap = result
}
}
I have setup the following protocol, and have 2 structs which then conform to this protocol:
protocol ExampleProtocol: Decodable {
var name: String { get set }
var length: Int { get set }
}
struct ExampleModel1: ExampleProtocol {
var name: String
var length: Int
var otherData: Array<String>
}
struct ExampleModel2: ExampleProtocol {
var name: String
var length: Int
var dateString: String
}
I want to deserialise some JSON data I receive from the server, and I know it will be returning a mix of both ExampleModel1 and ExampleModel2 in an array:
struct ExampleNetworkResponse: Decodable {
var someString: String
var modelArray: Array<ExampleProtocol>
}
Is there anyway to use the Codable approach and support both models easily? Or will I need to manually deserialise the data for each model?
EDIT 1:
Conforming to Decodable on the structs, still gives the same results:
struct ExampleModel1: ExampleProtocol, Decodable {
enum CodingKeys: String, CodingKey {
case name, length, otherData
}
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
let container = try decoder.container(keyedBy: CodingKeys.self)
self.name = try container.decode(String.self, forKey: .name)
self.length = try container.decode(Int.self, forKey: .length)
self.otherData = try container.decode(Array<String>.self, forKey: .otherData)
}
var name: String
var length: Int
var otherData: Array<String>
}
struct ExampleModel2: ExampleProtocol, Decodable {
enum CodingKeys: String, CodingKey {
case name, length, dateString
}
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
let container = try decoder.container(keyedBy: CodingKeys.self)
self.name = try container.decode(String.self, forKey: .name)
self.length = try container.decode(Int.self, forKey: .length)
self.dateString = try container.decode(String.self, forKey: .dateString)
}
var name: String
var length: Int
var dateString: String
}
struct ExampleNetworkResponse: Decodable {
var someString: String
var modelArray: Array<ExampleProtocol>
}
If you have a limited amount of ExampleProtocols and you need to have a different type of ExampleProtocols in the same array, then you can create a holder for ExampleProtocol and use it for decoding/encoding.
ExampleHolder could hold all possible Decodable ExampleProtocol types in one array. So decoder init don't need to have so many if-else scopes and easier to add more in the future.
Would recommend keeping ExampleHolder as a private struct. So it's not possible to access it outside of file or maybe even not outside of ExampleNetworkResponse.
enum ExampleNetworkResponseError: Error {
case unsupportedExampleModelOnDecoding
}
private struct ExampleHolder: Decodable {
let exampleModel: ExampleProtocol
private let possibleModelTypes: [ExampleProtocol.Type] = [
ExampleModel1.self,
ExampleModel2.self
]
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
for type in possibleModelTypes {
if let model = try? type.init(from: decoder) {
exampleModel = model
return
}
}
throw ExampleNetworkResponseError.unsupportedExampleModelOnDecoding
}
}
struct ExampleNetworkResponse: Decodable {
var someString: String
var modelArray: Array<ExampleProtocol>
enum CodingKeys: String, CodingKey {
case someString, modelArray
}
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
let container = try decoder.container(keyedBy: CodingKeys.self)
someString = try container.decode(String.self, forKey: .someString)
let exampleHolderArray = try container.decode([ExampleHolder].self, forKey: .modelArray)
modelArray = exampleHolderArray.map({ $0.exampleModel })
}
}
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
If in one response can have only one type of ExampleProtocol in the array then:
struct ExampleNetworkResponse2<ModelArrayElement: ExampleProtocol>: Decodable {
var someString: String
var modelArray: Array<ModelArrayElement>
}
usage:
let decoder = JSONDecoder()
let response = try decoder.decode(
ExampleNetworkResponse2<ExampleModel1>.self,
from: dataToDecode
)
I'm currently working with Codable types in my project and facing an issue.
struct Person: Codable
{
var id: Any
}
id in the above code could be either a String or an Int. This is the reason id is of type Any.
I know that Any is not Codable.
What I need to know is how can I make it work.
Quantum Value
First of all you can define a type that can be decoded both from a String and Int value.
Here it is.
enum QuantumValue: Decodable {
case int(Int), string(String)
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
if let int = try? decoder.singleValueContainer().decode(Int.self) {
self = .int(int)
return
}
if let string = try? decoder.singleValueContainer().decode(String.self) {
self = .string(string)
return
}
throw QuantumError.missingValue
}
enum QuantumError:Error {
case missingValue
}
}
Person
Now you can define your struct like this
struct Person: Decodable {
let id: QuantumValue
}
That's it. Let's test it!
JSON 1: id is String
let data = """
{
"id": "123"
}
""".data(using: String.Encoding.utf8)!
if let person = try? JSONDecoder().decode(Person.self, from: data) {
print(person)
}
JSON 2: id is Int
let data = """
{
"id": 123
}
""".data(using: String.Encoding.utf8)!
if let person = try? JSONDecoder().decode(Person.self, from: data) {
print(person)
}
UPDATE 1 Comparing values
This new paragraph should answer the questions from the comments.
If you want to compare a quantum value to an Int you must keep in mind that a quantum value could contain an Int or a String.
So the question is: what does it mean comparing a String and an Int?
If you are just looking for a way of converting a quantum value into an Int then you can simply add this extension
extension QuantumValue {
var intValue: Int? {
switch self {
case .int(let value): return value
case .string(let value): return Int(value)
}
}
}
Now you can write
let quantumValue: QuantumValue: ...
quantumValue.intValue == 123
UPDATE 2
This part to answer the comment left by #Abrcd18.
You can add this computed property to the Person struct.
var idAsString: String {
switch id {
case .string(let string): return string
case .int(let int): return String(int)
}
}
And now to populate the label just write
label.text = person.idAsString
Hope it helps.
Codable needs to know the type to cast to.
Firstly I would try to address the issue of not knowing the type, see if you can fix that and make it simpler.
Otherwise the only way I can think of solving your issue currently is to use generics like below.
struct Person<T> {
var id: T
var name: String
}
let person1 = Person<Int>(id: 1, name: "John")
let person2 = Person<String>(id: "two", name: "Steve")
I solved this issue defining a new Decodable Struct called AnyDecodable, so instead of Any I use AnyDecodable. It works perfectly also with nested types.
Try this in a playground:
var json = """
{
"id": 12345,
"name": "Giuseppe",
"last_name": "Lanza",
"age": 31,
"happy": true,
"rate": 1.5,
"classes": ["maths", "phisics"],
"dogs": [
{
"name": "Gala",
"age": 1
}, {
"name": "Aria",
"age": 3
}
]
}
"""
public struct AnyDecodable: Decodable {
public var value: Any
private struct CodingKeys: CodingKey {
var stringValue: String
var intValue: Int?
init?(intValue: Int) {
self.stringValue = "\(intValue)"
self.intValue = intValue
}
init?(stringValue: String) { self.stringValue = stringValue }
}
public init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
if let container = try? decoder.container(keyedBy: CodingKeys.self) {
var result = [String: Any]()
try container.allKeys.forEach { (key) throws in
result[key.stringValue] = try container.decode(AnyDecodable.self, forKey: key).value
}
value = result
} else if var container = try? decoder.unkeyedContainer() {
var result = [Any]()
while !container.isAtEnd {
result.append(try container.decode(AnyDecodable.self).value)
}
value = result
} else if let container = try? decoder.singleValueContainer() {
if let intVal = try? container.decode(Int.self) {
value = intVal
} else if let doubleVal = try? container.decode(Double.self) {
value = doubleVal
} else if let boolVal = try? container.decode(Bool.self) {
value = boolVal
} else if let stringVal = try? container.decode(String.self) {
value = stringVal
} else {
throw DecodingError.dataCorruptedError(in: container, debugDescription: "the container contains nothing serialisable")
}
} else {
throw DecodingError.dataCorrupted(DecodingError.Context(codingPath: decoder.codingPath, debugDescription: "Could not serialise"))
}
}
}
let stud = try! JSONDecoder().decode(AnyDecodable.self, from: jsonData).value as! [String: Any]
print(stud)
You could extend my struct to be AnyCodable if you are interested also in the Encoding part.
Edit: I actually did it.
Here is AnyCodable
struct AnyCodable: Decodable {
var value: Any
struct CodingKeys: CodingKey {
var stringValue: String
var intValue: Int?
init?(intValue: Int) {
self.stringValue = "\(intValue)"
self.intValue = intValue
}
init?(stringValue: String) { self.stringValue = stringValue }
}
init(value: Any) {
self.value = value
}
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
if let container = try? decoder.container(keyedBy: CodingKeys.self) {
var result = [String: Any]()
try container.allKeys.forEach { (key) throws in
result[key.stringValue] = try container.decode(AnyCodable.self, forKey: key).value
}
value = result
} else if var container = try? decoder.unkeyedContainer() {
var result = [Any]()
while !container.isAtEnd {
result.append(try container.decode(AnyCodable.self).value)
}
value = result
} else if let container = try? decoder.singleValueContainer() {
if let intVal = try? container.decode(Int.self) {
value = intVal
} else if let doubleVal = try? container.decode(Double.self) {
value = doubleVal
} else if let boolVal = try? container.decode(Bool.self) {
value = boolVal
} else if let stringVal = try? container.decode(String.self) {
value = stringVal
} else {
throw DecodingError.dataCorruptedError(in: container, debugDescription: "the container contains nothing serialisable")
}
} else {
throw DecodingError.dataCorrupted(DecodingError.Context(codingPath: decoder.codingPath, debugDescription: "Could not serialise"))
}
}
}
extension AnyCodable: Encodable {
func encode(to encoder: Encoder) throws {
if let array = value as? [Any] {
var container = encoder.unkeyedContainer()
for value in array {
let decodable = AnyCodable(value: value)
try container.encode(decodable)
}
} else if let dictionary = value as? [String: Any] {
var container = encoder.container(keyedBy: CodingKeys.self)
for (key, value) in dictionary {
let codingKey = CodingKeys(stringValue: key)!
let decodable = AnyCodable(value: value)
try container.encode(decodable, forKey: codingKey)
}
} else {
var container = encoder.singleValueContainer()
if let intVal = value as? Int {
try container.encode(intVal)
} else if let doubleVal = value as? Double {
try container.encode(doubleVal)
} else if let boolVal = value as? Bool {
try container.encode(boolVal)
} else if let stringVal = value as? String {
try container.encode(stringVal)
} else {
throw EncodingError.invalidValue(value, EncodingError.Context.init(codingPath: [], debugDescription: "The value is not encodable"))
}
}
}
}
You can test it With the previous json in this way in a playground:
let stud = try! JSONDecoder().decode(AnyCodable.self, from: jsonData)
print(stud.value as! [String: Any])
let backToJson = try! JSONEncoder().encode(stud)
let jsonString = String(bytes: backToJson, encoding: .utf8)!
print(jsonString)
If your problem is that it's uncertain the type of id as it might be either a string or an integer value, I can suggest you this blog post: http://agostini.tech/2017/11/12/swift-4-codable-in-real-life-part-2/
Basically I defined a new Decodable type
public struct UncertainValue<T: Decodable, U: Decodable>: Decodable {
public var tValue: T?
public var uValue: U?
public var value: Any? {
return tValue ?? uValue
}
public init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
let container = try decoder.singleValueContainer()
tValue = try? container.decode(T.self)
uValue = try? container.decode(U.self)
if tValue == nil && uValue == nil {
//Type mismatch
throw DecodingError.typeMismatch(type(of: self), DecodingError.Context(codingPath: [], debugDescription: "The value is not of type \(T.self) and not even \(U.self)"))
}
}
}
From now on, your Person object would be
struct Person: Decodable {
var id: UncertainValue<Int, String>
}
you will be able to access your id using id.value
Simply you can use AnyCodable type from Matt Thompson's cool library AnyCodable.
Eg:
import AnyCodable
struct Person: Codable
{
var id: AnyCodable
}
To make key as Any, I like all above answers. But when you are not sure which data type your server guy will send then you use Quantum class (as above), But Quantum type is little difficult to use or manage. So here is my solution to make your decodable class key as a Any data type (or "id" for obj-c lovers)
class StatusResp:Decodable{
var success:Id? // Here i am not sure which datatype my server guy will send
}
enum Id: Decodable {
case int(Int), double(Double), string(String) // Add more cases if you want
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
//Check each case
if let dbl = try? decoder.singleValueContainer().decode(Double.self),dbl.truncatingRemainder(dividingBy: 1) != 0 { // It is double not a int value
self = .double(dbl)
return
}
if let int = try? decoder.singleValueContainer().decode(Int.self) {
self = .int(int)
return
}
if let string = try? decoder.singleValueContainer().decode(String.self) {
self = .string(string)
return
}
throw IdError.missingValue
}
enum IdError:Error { // If no case matched
case missingValue
}
var any:Any{
get{
switch self {
case .double(let value):
return value
case .int(let value):
return value
case .string(let value):
return value
}
}
}
}
Usage :
let json = "{\"success\":\"hii\"}".data(using: .utf8) // response will be String
//let json = "{\"success\":50.55}".data(using: .utf8) //response will be Double
//let json = "{\"success\":50}".data(using: .utf8) //response will be Int
let decoded = try? JSONDecoder().decode(StatusResp.self, from: json!)
print(decoded?.success) // It will print Any
if let doubleValue = decoded?.success as? Double {
}else if let doubleValue = decoded?.success as? Int {
}else if let doubleValue = decoded?.success as? String {
}
You can replace Any with an enum accepting an Int or a String:
enum Id: Codable {
case numeric(value: Int)
case named(name: String)
}
struct Person: Codable
{
var id: Id
}
Then the compiler will complain about the fact that Id does not conform to Decodable. Because Id has associated values you need to implement this yourself. Read https://littlebitesofcocoa.com/318-codable-enums for an example of how to do this.
Thanks to Luka Angeletti's answer (https://stackoverflow.com/a/48388443/7057338) i've changed enum to struct so we can use it more easily
struct QuantumValue: Codable {
public var string: String?
public var integer: Int?
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
let container = try decoder.singleValueContainer()
if let int = try? container.decode(Int.self) {
self.integer = int
return
}
if let string = try? container.decode(String.self) {
self.string = string
return
}
throw QuantumError.missingValue
}
func encode(to encoder: Encoder) throws {
var container = encoder.singleValueContainer()
try container.encode(string)
try container.encode(integer)
}
enum QuantumError: Error {
case missingValue
}
func value() -> Any? {
if let s = string {
return s
}
if let i = integer {
return i
}
return nil
}
}
First of all, as you can read in other answers and comments, using Any for this is not good design. If possible, give it a second thought.
That said, if you want to stick to it for your own reasons, you should write your own encoding/decoding and adopt some kind of convention in the serialized JSON.
The code below implements it by encoding id always as string and decoding to Int or String depending on the found value.
import Foundation
struct Person: Codable {
var id: Any
init(id: Any) {
self.id = id
}
public init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
let container = try decoder.container(keyedBy: Keys.self)
if let idstr = try container.decodeIfPresent(String.self, forKey: .id) {
if let idnum = Int(idstr) {
id = idnum
}
else {
id = idstr
}
return
}
fatalError()
}
func encode(to encoder: Encoder) throws {
var container = encoder.container(keyedBy: Keys.self)
try container.encode(String(describing: id), forKey: .id)
}
enum Keys: String, CodingKey {
case id
}
}
extension Person: CustomStringConvertible {
var description: String { return "<Person id:\(id)>" }
}
Examples
Encode object with numeric id:
var p1 = Person(id: 1)
print(String(data: try JSONEncoder().encode(p1),
encoding: String.Encoding.utf8) ?? "/* ERROR */")
// {"id":"1"}
Encode object with string id:
var p2 = Person(id: "root")
print(String(data: try JSONEncoder().encode(p2),
encoding: String.Encoding.utf8) ?? "/* ERROR */")
// {"id":"root"}
Decode to numeric id:
print(try JSONDecoder().decode(Person.self,
from: "{\"id\": \"2\"}".data(using: String.Encoding.utf8)!))
// <Person id:2>
Decode to string id:
print(try JSONDecoder().decode(Person.self,
from: "{\"id\": \"admin\"}".data(using: String.Encoding.utf8)!))
// <Person id:admin>
An alternative implementation would be encoding to Int or String and wrap the decoding attempts in a do...catch.
In the encoding part:
if let idstr = id as? String {
try container.encode(idstr, forKey: .id)
}
else if let idnum = id as? Int {
try container.encode(idnum, forKey: .id)
}
And then decode to the right type in multiple attempts:
do {
if let idstr = try container.decodeIfPresent(String.self, forKey: .id) {
id = idstr
id_decoded = true
}
}
catch {
/* pass */
}
if !id_decoded {
do {
if let idnum = try container.decodeIfPresent(Int.self, forKey: .id) {
id = idnum
}
}
catch {
/* pass */
}
}
It's uglier in my opinion.
Depending on the control you have over the server serialization you can use either of them or write something else adapted to the actual serialization.
Here your id can be any Codable type:
Swift 4.2
struct Person<T: Codable>: Codable {
var id: T
var name: String?
}
let p1 = Person(id: 1, name: "Bill")
let p2 = Person(id: "one", name: "John")
Swift 5
This is an update about the best answer (IMHO) from Luca Angeletti, so to perform your request:
enum PersonAny: Codable {
case int(Int), string(String) // Insert here the different type to encode/decode
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
if let int = try? decoder.singleValueContainer().decode(Int.self) {
self = .int(int)
return
}
if let string = try? decoder.singleValueContainer().decode(String.self) {
self = .string(string)
return
}
throw AnyError.missingValue
}
enum AnyError:Error {
case missingValue
}
}
// Your declaration
struct Person: Codable
{
var id: PersonAny
}
There is a corner case which is not covered by Luca Angeletti's solution.
For instance, if Cordinate's type is Double or [Double], Angeletti's solution will cause an error: "Expected to decode Double but found an array instead"
In this case, you have to use nested enum instead in Cordinate.
enum Cordinate: Decodable {
case double(Double), array([Cordinate])
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
if let double = try? decoder.singleValueContainer().decode(Double.self) {
self = .double(double)
return
}
if let array = try? decoder.singleValueContainer().decode([Cordinate].self) {
self = .array(array)
return
}
throw CordinateError.missingValue
}
enum CordinateError: Error {
case missingValue
}
}
struct Geometry : Decodable {
let date : String?
let type : String?
let coordinates : [Cordinate]?
enum CodingKeys: String, CodingKey {
case date = "date"
case type = "type"
case coordinates = "coordinates"
}
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
let values = try decoder.container(keyedBy: CodingKeys.self)
date = try values.decodeIfPresent(String.self, forKey: .date)
type = try values.decodeIfPresent(String.self, forKey: .type)
coordinates = try values.decodeIfPresent([Cordinate].self, forKey: .coordinates)
}
}