Creating JSON file using NSDictionary with an array - ios

Question

I am attempting to create json data to send to a server via an HTTP POST request. The server will only accept a specific format of JSON, otherwise it will return an error. I can successfully create and upload the JSON file to the server, however I am getting the following error because I have not formatted my JSON incorrectly:
JSON Error Message: {
code = "-2";
message = "Validation error: {\"message\":{\"to\":[\"Please enter an array\"]}}";
name = ValidationError;
status = error;
}
As you can see, the server needs a complex JSON format with an Array of Values and Keys but I'm not sure how to do that. Below is my current code to create the JSON data:
//Create Array With TO Values
NSDictionary *toField = #{#"email" : emailField.text};
//Create Dictionary Values
NSDictionary *messageContent = #{#"subject" : #"APPNAME Registration Complete", #"from_email" : #"email#domain.com", #"to" : toField};
NSDictionary *mandrillValues = #{#"key" : #"APPKEY",
#"redirect_url" : #"PRIVATE-URL",
#"template_name" : #"app-registration",
#"template_content" : [NSNull null],
#"message" : messageContent
};
NSData* jsonData = [NSJSONSerialization dataWithJSONObject:mandrillValues options:NSJSONWritingPrettyPrinted error:nil];
According to the server, I need an array with keys and values, similar to a nsdictionary. When I use an NSArray, though, I can't add values / keys. Any ideas on how I should go about doing this? Below is an example of the JSON format that the server will accept, am I doing everything right to follow this format? If not, what do I need to change to match the format?
{
"key": "example key",
"template_name": "example template_name",
"template_content": [
{
"name": "example name",
"content": "example content"
}
],
"message": {
"text": "example text",
"subject": "example subject",
"from_email": "message.from_email#example.com",
"from_name": "example from_name",
"to": [
{
"email": "example email",
"name": "example name"
}
],
}}

Answer 1

Looks like the "to" field expects an array. Unless the variable toField is an NSArray that contains dictionaries with keys and values as described, you're going to get a JSON that's not exactly like the one you want.
I would suggest outputting the description of the outgoing JSON to see exactly where there are differences.
Update
I saw the addition to your question -
NSDictionary *toField = #{#"email" : emailField.text};
Does not create an array. Try:
NSArray *toField = #[#{#"email" : emailField.text}];