How to parse such type array? - ios

Question

I got the next when I'm trying to do:
for item in serverResponse {
print(item)
}
it gives me:
("0", {
"id" : 1,
"name" : "Programming"
})
("1", {
"id" : 2,
"name" : "Music"
})
How can I parse this array to take name there? I've confused with it =/
UPDATE
The full response is:
{
"name": "ABC",
"books": [
{
"id": 1,
"name": "Programming"
}
{
"id": 2,
"name": "Music"
}
]
}

Answer 1

You are looking to convert Json to an object to read name. Crude solution would be to parse for name. Better way of doing it is use SwiftyJson or ObjectMapper.

Answer 2

If you get Json from your server you can use it:
func getJSON(urlToRequest: String) -> NSData{
return NSData(contentsOfURL: NSURL(string: urlToRequest)!)!
}
func parseJSON(inputData: NSData) -> NSArray{
let boardsDictionary = try! NSJSONSerialization.JSONObjectWithData(inputData, options: .AllowFragments) as! NSArray
return boardsDictionary
}
Then use myData = parseJSON(json) and you can access name with
let data = myData[0] as! NSDictionary
let name = data["name"]! as? String

Answer 3

for item in serverResponse {
let itemArray = (item as? NSDictionary)["books"] as? NSArray
for (var i = 0; i < itemArray.count ; i++ ) {
if let dic1 = itemArray[i] as? NSDictionary {
let item: String!
item = dic1["name"] as? String
print(item)
}
}
}

Answer 4

I don't like dealing with dictionaries in Swift. I find that objects behave better and are easier to manage - they're also safer.
So my suggestion is to parse your response into "Book" structs, then you can access the properties of these structs (id, name) easily.
It could be even better to make a class that does all the work.
For testing purposes I've reproduced your response like this:
let response: NSDictionary = ["name": "ABC", "books": [["id": 1, "name": "Programming"], ["id": 2, "name": "Music"]]]
Now let's first make our Book struct.
It will have the two properties, and also an initializer which will decode the content of each dictionary that's located in the array in the "books" key of your response. The initializer is failable because the content might not be decodable.
struct Book {
let id: Int
let name: String
init?(_ object: AnyObject) {
if let dictionary = object as? NSDictionary,
dictId = dictionary["id"] as? Int,
dictName = dictionary["name"] as? String {
self.id = dictId
self.name = dictName
} else {
return nil
}
}
}
Now we can make a class that will hold all the books. We need another initializer for that, which will iterate over the contents and create the objects with the structs:
class BooksManager {
var books = [Book]()
init(response: NSDictionary) {
if let array = response["books"] as? NSArray {
self.books = array.flatMap { Book($0) }
}
}
}
Ok, now we have finished writing the boilerplate code, we can use our toys.
Create an instance of the class:
let manager = BooksManager(response: response)
That's it! Now the class holds the objects and you can easily access their properties.
For example with a loop:
for book in manager.books {
print("Book id: \(book.id), book name: \(book.name)")
}
Result:
Book id: 1, book name: Programming
Book id: 2, book name: Music
And let's say you want the name of the first book:
if let nameOfFirstBook = manager.books.first?.name {
print(nameOfFirstBook)
}
Result:
Programming
Last example, let's say you want to collect all books names in an array:
let booksNames = manager.books.map { $0.name }
Result:
["Programming", "Music"]