I have a json file and reading it and decode it as follows.
my json file looks like as follows, A and B represents the struct object. I wonder are there a better and effective way to decoding this type of json?
[
[
{"id": "152478", "age": "20"},{"character": "king", "isDead":"no", "canMove" :"yes"}
],
[
{"id": "887541", "age": "22"},{"character": "lion", "isDead":"no", "canMove" :"yes"}
]
]
decoding is as follows:
let url = Bundle.main.url(forResource: "mypew", withExtension: "json")!
do {
let jsonData = try Data(contentsOf: url)
// B -> json[0][0], [1][0]
// A -> json[0][1], [0][1]
response = try JSONSerialization.jsonObject(with: jsonData) as! [[[String: Any]]]
for i in 0..<response.count
{
for j in 0..<response[i].count
{
if j == 0
{
let jsonDat = (try? JSONSerialization.data(withJSONObject:response[i][j]))!
let bElement = try JSONDecoder().decode(B.self, from: jsonDat)
self.bArray.append(bElement)
}
else if j == 1
{
let jsonDatt = (try? JSONSerialization.data(withJSONObject:response[i][j]))!
let aElement = try JSONDecoder().decode(A.self, from: jsonDatt)
self.aArray.append(aElement)
}
}
}
First, make the two objects (let's call them A and B) conform to Decodable:
struct A: Decodable {
var id, age: String
}
struct B: Decodable {
var character, isDead, canMove: String
}
Then, if your structure for the pair of A and B is always the same, i.e. it's always [A, B], then you can decode the pair into its own object. Let's call that object ABPair:
struct ABPair: Decodable {
let a: A
let b: B
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
var container = try decoder.unkeyedContainer()
guard let a = try? container.decode(A.self),
let b = try? container.decode(B.self)
else {
// throw since we didn't find A first, followed by B
throw DecodingError.dataCorruptedError(in: container, debugDescription: "error")
}
self.a = a
self.b = b
}
}
And you can decode the array of pairs as follows:
let decoder = JSONDecoder()
let pairs = try? decoder.decode([ABPair].self, from: jsonData)
print(pairs[1].b.character) // lion
Firstly, you need to create a Codable struct for the model. Then decode the model from the data and not the JSON object. Here the code,
Model:
struct Model: Codable {
let id, age, character, isDead, canMove: String?
}
Decoding:
let url = Bundle.main.url(forResource: "mypew", withExtension: "json")!
do {
let jsonData = try Data(contentsOf: url)
let models = try JSONDecoder().decode([[Model]].self, from: jsonData)
for model in models {
print(model[0].age, model[1].canMove)
}
} catch {
print(error)
}
I have a json like bellow:
object{2}
status: 1
result{3}
cohorts[23]
categories[158]
languages[16]
And I am Decoder it like bellow:
struct ResultAPIJSON: Decodable {
private enum RootCodingKeys: String, CodingKey {
case result
}
private enum FeatureCohortsCodingKeys: String, CodingKey {
case cohorts
}
var cohortsPropertiesArray = [CohortsProperties]()
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
let rootContainerCohorts = try decoder.container(keyedBy: RootCodingKeys.self)
var featuresContainerCohorts = try rootContainerCohorts.nestedUnkeyedContainer(forKey: .result)
let AAA = try featuresContainerCohorts.nestedContainer(keyedBy: FeatureCohortsCodingKeys.self)
let BBB = try AAA.nestedUnkeyedContainer(forKey: .cohorts)
while BBB.isAtEnd == false {
let propertiesContainer = try featuresContainerCohorts.nestedContainer(keyedBy: FeatureCohortsCodingKeys.self)
// Decodes a single quake from the data, and appends it to the array.
let properties = try propertiesContainer.decode(CohortsProperties.self, forKey: .cohorts)
cohortsPropertiesArray.append(properties)
}
}
}
But get me bellow error:
typeMismatch(Swift.Array<Any>, Swift.DecodingError.Context(codingPath: [], debugDescription: "Expected to decode Array<Any> but found a dictionary instead.", underlyingError: nil))
If this is your JSON
object{2}
status: 1
result{3}
cohorts[23]
categories[158]
languages[16]
(or more likely, this:)
{
"status": 1,
"result": {
"cohorts": 23,
"categories": 158,
"languages": 16
}
}
then you need two structs:
struct object: Decodable {
let status: Int
let result: Result
}
struct Result: Decodable {
let cohorts: Int
let categories: Int
let languages: Int
}
So I got a pretty hard problem to tackle. My JSON code has a pretty weird structure. It has the following structure:
{
"title": [
[
"Temperature",
"9 \u00b0C (283 \u00b0F)",
"Good"
],
[
"Visibility",
"10 KM (6.2 Mi)",
"Good"
]
]
}
With the following code I was able to print out some easy json code:
import UIKit
struct WeatherItem: Decodable {
let title: String?
let value: String?
let condition: String?
}
class ViewController: UIViewController {
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
let jsonUrlString = "http://somelinkhere"
guard let url = URL(string: jsonUrlString) else { return }
URLSession.shared.dataTask(with: url) { (data, response, err) in
guard let data = data else { return }
do {
let weather = try JSONDecoder().decode(WeatherItem.self, from: data)
print(weather.title)
} catch let jsonErr{
print("error", jsonErr)
}
}.resume()
}
}
But the problem is that my output for all 3 variables, title, value and condition nil is.
I am sure I have to change the struct code, but I don't know in what way.
How do I get to JSON code with no title?
You will have to write the decoding initializer by yourself:
struct WeatherData: Decodable {
let title: [WeatherItem]
}
struct WeatherItem: Decodable {
let title: String?
let value: String?
let condition: String?
public init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
// decode the value for WeatherItem as [String]
let container = try decoder.singleValueContainer()
let components = try container.decode([String].self)
title = components.count > 0 ? components[0] : nil
value = components.count > 1 ? components[1] : nil
condition = components.count > 2 ? components[2] : nil
}
}
let json = """
{
"title": [
["Temperature", "9", "Good"],
["Visibility", "10 KM (6.2 Mi)", "Good"]
]
}
"""
let jsonData: Data = json.data(using: .utf8)!
let decoder = JSONDecoder()
let decoded = try! decoder.decode(WeatherData.self, from: jsonData)
debugPrint(decoded)
Correct json
{
"title": [
[
"Temperature",
" ",
"Good"
],
[
"Visibility",
"10 KM (6.2 Mi)",
"Good"
]
]
}
var arr = [WeatherItem]()
do {
let res = try JSONDecoder().decode([String:[[String]]].self, from: data)
let content = res["title"]!
content.forEach {
if $0.count >= 3 {
arr.append(WeatherItem(title:$0[0],value:$0[1],condition:$0[2]))
}
}
print(arr)
} catch {
print(error)
}
Discussion : your root object is a dictionary that contains 1 key named title and it's value is an array of array of strings or from the model logic it's an array of model named WeatherItem but isn't structured properly for it , so using this
let weather = try JSONDecoder().decode(WeatherItem.self, from: data)
won't work as the current json does't contain keys value and condition
A proper strcuture would be
[
{
"title":"Temperature" ,
"value":"",
"condition":"Good"
},
{
"title":"Visibility",
"title":"10 KM (6.2 Mi)",
"condition":"Good"
}
]
and that will enable you to do
let weather = try JSONDecoder().decode([WeatherItem].self, from: data)
I am trying to parse a JSON array which can be
{
"config_data": [
{
"name": "illuminate",
"config_title": "Blink"
},
{
"name": "shoot",
"config_title": "Fire"
}
]
}
or it can be of following type
{
"config_data": [
"illuminate",
"shoot"
]
}
or even
{
"config_data": [
25,
100
]
}
So to parse this using JSONDecoder I created a struct as follows -
Struct Model: Codable {
var config_data: [Any]?
enum CodingKeys: String, CodingKey {
case config_data = "config_data"
}
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
let values = try decoder.container(keyedBy: CodingKeys.self)
config_data = try values.decode([Any].self, forKey: .config_data)
}
}
But this would not work since Any does not confirm to decodable protocol. What could be the solution for this. The array can contain any kind of data
I used quicktype to infer the type of config_data and it suggested an enum with separate cases for your object, string, and integer values:
struct ConfigData {
let configData: [ConfigDatumElement]
}
enum ConfigDatumElement {
case configDatumClass(ConfigDatumClass)
case integer(Int)
case string(String)
}
struct ConfigDatumClass {
let name, configTitle: String
}
Here's the complete code example. It's a bit tricky to decode the enum but quicktype helps you out there:
// To parse the JSON, add this file to your project and do:
//
// let configData = try? JSONDecoder().decode(ConfigData.self, from: jsonData)
import Foundation
struct ConfigData: Codable {
let configData: [ConfigDatumElement]
enum CodingKeys: String, CodingKey {
case configData = "config_data"
}
}
enum ConfigDatumElement: Codable {
case configDatumClass(ConfigDatumClass)
case integer(Int)
case string(String)
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
let container = try decoder.singleValueContainer()
if let x = try? container.decode(Int.self) {
self = .integer(x)
return
}
if let x = try? container.decode(String.self) {
self = .string(x)
return
}
if let x = try? container.decode(ConfigDatumClass.self) {
self = .configDatumClass(x)
return
}
throw DecodingError.typeMismatch(ConfigDatumElement.self, DecodingError.Context(codingPath: decoder.codingPath, debugDescription: "Wrong type for ConfigDatumElement"))
}
func encode(to encoder: Encoder) throws {
var container = encoder.singleValueContainer()
switch self {
case .configDatumClass(let x):
try container.encode(x)
case .integer(let x):
try container.encode(x)
case .string(let x):
try container.encode(x)
}
}
}
struct ConfigDatumClass: Codable {
let name, configTitle: String
enum CodingKeys: String, CodingKey {
case name
case configTitle = "config_title"
}
}
It's nice to use the enum because you get the most type-safety that way. The other answers seem to lose this.
Using quicktype's convenience initializers option, a working code sample is:
let data = try ConfigData("""
{
"config_data": [
{
"name": "illuminate",
"config_title": "Blink"
},
{
"name": "shoot",
"config_title": "Fire"
},
"illuminate",
"shoot",
25,
100
]
}
""")
for item in data.configData {
switch item {
case .configDatumClass(let d):
print("It's a class:", d)
case .integer(let i):
print("It's an int:", i)
case .string(let s):
print("It's a string:", s)
}
}
This prints:
It's a class: ConfigDatumClass(name: "illuminate", configTitle: "Blink")
It's a class: ConfigDatumClass(name: "shoot", configTitle: "Fire")
It's a string: illuminate
It's a string: shoot
It's an int: 25
It's an int: 100
You first need to decide what to do if the second JSON comes up. The second JSON format has way less info. What do you want to do with those data (config_title) that you lost? Do you actually need them at all?
If you do need to store the config_titles if they are present, then I suggest you to create a ConfigItem struct, which looks like this:
struct ConfigItem: Codable {
let name: String
let configTitle: String?
init(name: String, configTitle: String? = nil) {
self.name = name
self.configTitle = configTitle
}
// encode and init(decoder:) here...
// ...
}
Implement the required encode and init(decoder:) methods. You know the drill.
Now, when you are decoding your JSON, decode the config_data key as usual. But this time, instead of using an [Any], you can decode to [ConfigItem]! Obviously this won't always work because the JSON can sometimes be in the second form. So you catch any error thrown from that and decode config_data using [String] instead. Then, map the string array to a bunch of ConfigItems!
You are trying to JSON to object or object to JSON ? you can try this code add any swift file:
extension String {
var xl_json: Any? {
if let data = data(using: String.Encoding.utf8) {
return try? JSONSerialization.jsonObject(with: data, options: .mutableContainers)
}
return nil
}
}
extension Array {
var xl_json: String? {
guard let data = try? JSONSerialization.data(withJSONObject: self, options: []) else {
return nil
}
return String(data: data, encoding: .utf8)
}
}
extension Dictionary {
var xl_json: String? {
guard let data = try? JSONSerialization.data(withJSONObject: self, options: []) else {
return nil
}
return String(data: data, encoding: .utf8)
}
}
and run this code:
let str = "{\"key\": \"Value\"}"
let dict = str.xl_json as! [String: String] // JSON to Objc
let json = dict.xl_json // Objc to JSON
print("jsonStr - \(str)")
print("objc - \(dict)")
print("jsonStr - \(json ?? "nil")")
Finally, you'll get it:
jsonStr - {"key": "Value"}
objc - ["key": "Value"]
jsonStr - {"key":"Value"}
While using Swift4 and Codable protocols I got the following problem - it looks like there is no way to allow JSONDecoder to skip elements in an array.
For example, I have the following JSON:
[
{
"name": "Banana",
"points": 200,
"description": "A banana grown in Ecuador."
},
{
"name": "Orange"
}
]
And a Codable struct:
struct GroceryProduct: Codable {
var name: String
var points: Int
var description: String?
}
When decoding this json
let decoder = JSONDecoder()
let products = try decoder.decode([GroceryProduct].self, from: json)
Resulting products is empty. Which is to be expected, due to the fact that the second object in JSON has no "points" key, while points is not optional in GroceryProduct struct.
Question is how can I allow JSONDecoder to "skip" invalid object?
One option is to use a wrapper type that attempts to decode a given value; storing nil if unsuccessful:
struct FailableDecodable<Base : Decodable> : Decodable {
let base: Base?
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
let container = try decoder.singleValueContainer()
self.base = try? container.decode(Base.self)
}
}
We can then decode an array of these, with your GroceryProduct filling in the Base placeholder:
import Foundation
let json = """
[
{
"name": "Banana",
"points": 200,
"description": "A banana grown in Ecuador."
},
{
"name": "Orange"
}
]
""".data(using: .utf8)!
struct GroceryProduct : Codable {
var name: String
var points: Int
var description: String?
}
let products = try JSONDecoder()
.decode([FailableDecodable<GroceryProduct>].self, from: json)
.compactMap { $0.base } // .flatMap in Swift 4.0
print(products)
// [
// GroceryProduct(
// name: "Banana", points: 200,
// description: Optional("A banana grown in Ecuador.")
// )
// ]
We're then using .compactMap { $0.base } to filter out nil elements (those that threw an error on decoding).
This will create an intermediate array of [FailableDecodable<GroceryProduct>], which shouldn't be an issue; however if you wish to avoid it, you could always create another wrapper type that decodes and unwraps each element from an unkeyed container:
struct FailableCodableArray<Element : Codable> : Codable {
var elements: [Element]
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
var container = try decoder.unkeyedContainer()
var elements = [Element]()
if let count = container.count {
elements.reserveCapacity(count)
}
while !container.isAtEnd {
if let element = try container
.decode(FailableDecodable<Element>.self).base {
elements.append(element)
}
}
self.elements = elements
}
func encode(to encoder: Encoder) throws {
var container = encoder.singleValueContainer()
try container.encode(elements)
}
}
You would then decode as:
let products = try JSONDecoder()
.decode(FailableCodableArray<GroceryProduct>.self, from: json)
.elements
print(products)
// [
// GroceryProduct(
// name: "Banana", points: 200,
// description: Optional("A banana grown in Ecuador.")
// )
// ]
I would create a new type Throwable, which can wrap any type conforming to Decodable:
enum Throwable<T: Decodable>: Decodable {
case success(T)
case failure(Error)
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
do {
let decoded = try T(from: decoder)
self = .success(decoded)
} catch let error {
self = .failure(error)
}
}
}
For decoding an array of GroceryProduct (or any other Collection):
let decoder = JSONDecoder()
let throwables = try decoder.decode([Throwable<GroceryProduct>].self, from: json)
let products = throwables.compactMap { $0.value }
where value is a computed property introduced in an extension on Throwable:
extension Throwable {
var value: T? {
switch self {
case .failure(_):
return nil
case .success(let value):
return value
}
}
}
I would opt for using a enum wrapper type (over a Struct) because it may be useful to keep track of the errors that are thrown as well as their indices.
Swift 5
For Swift 5 Consider using the Result enum e.g.
struct Throwable<T: Decodable>: Decodable {
let result: Result<T, Error>
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
result = Result(catching: { try T(from: decoder) })
}
}
To unwrap the decoded value use the get() method on the result property:
let products = throwables.compactMap { try? $0.result.get() }
The problem is that when iterating over a container, the container.currentIndex isn’t incremented so you can try to decode again with a different type.
Because the currentIndex is read only, a solution is to increment it yourself successfully decoding a dummy. I took #Hamish solution, and wrote a wrapper with a custom init.
This problem is a current Swift bug: https://bugs.swift.org/browse/SR-5953
The solution posted here is a workaround in one of the comments.
I like this option because I’m parsing a bunch of models the same way on a network client, and I wanted the solution to be local to one of the objects. That is, I still want the others to be discarded.
I explain better in my github https://github.com/phynet/Lossy-array-decode-swift4
import Foundation
let json = """
[
{
"name": "Banana",
"points": 200,
"description": "A banana grown in Ecuador."
},
{
"name": "Orange"
}
]
""".data(using: .utf8)!
private struct DummyCodable: Codable {}
struct Groceries: Codable
{
var groceries: [GroceryProduct]
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
var groceries = [GroceryProduct]()
var container = try decoder.unkeyedContainer()
while !container.isAtEnd {
if let route = try? container.decode(GroceryProduct.self) {
groceries.append(route)
} else {
_ = try? container.decode(DummyCodable.self) // <-- TRICK
}
}
self.groceries = groceries
}
}
struct GroceryProduct: Codable {
var name: String
var points: Int
var description: String?
}
let products = try JSONDecoder().decode(Groceries.self, from: json)
print(products)
There are two options:
Declare all members of the struct as optional whose keys can be missing
struct GroceryProduct: Codable {
var name: String
var points : Int?
var description: String?
}
Write a custom initializer to assign default values in the nil case.
struct GroceryProduct: Codable {
var name: String
var points : Int
var description: String
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
let values = try decoder.container(keyedBy: CodingKeys.self)
name = try values.decode(String.self, forKey: .name)
points = try values.decodeIfPresent(Int.self, forKey: .points) ?? 0
description = try values.decodeIfPresent(String.self, forKey: .description) ?? ""
}
}
A solution made possible by Swift 5.1, using the property wrapper:
#propertyWrapper
struct IgnoreFailure<Value: Decodable>: Decodable {
var wrappedValue: [Value] = []
private struct _None: Decodable {}
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
var container = try decoder.unkeyedContainer()
while !container.isAtEnd {
if let decoded = try? container.decode(Value.self) {
wrappedValue.append(decoded)
}
else {
// item is silently ignored.
try? container.decode(_None.self)
}
}
}
}
And then the usage:
let json = """
{
"products": [
{
"name": "Banana",
"points": 200,
"description": "A banana grown in Ecuador."
},
{
"name": "Orange"
}
]
}
""".data(using: .utf8)!
struct GroceryProduct: Decodable {
var name: String
var points: Int
var description: String?
}
struct ProductResponse: Decodable {
#IgnoreFailure
var products: [GroceryProduct]
}
let response = try! JSONDecoder().decode(ProductResponse.self, from: json)
print(response.products) // Only contains banana.
Note: The property wrapper things will only works if the response can be wrapped in a struct (i.e: not a top level array).
In that case, you can still wrap it manually (with a typealias for better readability):
typealias ArrayIgnoringFailure<Value: Decodable> = IgnoreFailure<Value>
let response = try! JSONDecoder().decode(ArrayIgnoringFailure<GroceryProduct>.self, from: json)
print(response.wrappedValue) // Only contains banana.
Ive put #sophy-swicz solution, with some modifications, into an easy to use extension
fileprivate struct DummyCodable: Codable {}
extension UnkeyedDecodingContainer {
public mutating func decodeArray<T>(_ type: T.Type) throws -> [T] where T : Decodable {
var array = [T]()
while !self.isAtEnd {
do {
let item = try self.decode(T.self)
array.append(item)
} catch let error {
print("error: \(error)")
// hack to increment currentIndex
_ = try self.decode(DummyCodable.self)
}
}
return array
}
}
extension KeyedDecodingContainerProtocol {
public func decodeArray<T>(_ type: T.Type, forKey key: Self.Key) throws -> [T] where T : Decodable {
var unkeyedContainer = try self.nestedUnkeyedContainer(forKey: key)
return try unkeyedContainer.decodeArray(type)
}
}
Just call it like this
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
let container = try decoder.container(keyedBy: CodingKeys.self)
self.items = try container.decodeArray(ItemType.self, forKey: . items)
}
For the example above:
let json = """
[
{
"name": "Banana",
"points": 200,
"description": "A banana grown in Ecuador."
},
{
"name": "Orange"
}
]
""".data(using: .utf8)!
struct Groceries: Codable
{
var groceries: [GroceryProduct]
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
var container = try decoder.unkeyedContainer()
groceries = try container.decodeArray(GroceryProduct.self)
}
}
struct GroceryProduct: Codable {
var name: String
var points: Int
var description: String?
}
let products = try JSONDecoder().decode(Groceries.self, from: json)
print(products)
Instead, You can also do like this:
struct GroceryProduct: Decodable {
var name: String
var points: Int
var description: String?
}'
and then in while getting it:
'let groceryList = try JSONDecoder().decode(Array<GroceryProduct>.self, from: responseData)'
Unfortunately Swift 4 API doesn't have failable initializer for init(from: Decoder).
Only one solution that I see is implementing custom decoding, giving default value for optional fields and possible filter with needed data:
struct GroceryProduct: Codable {
let name: String
let points: Int?
let description: String
private enum CodingKeys: String, CodingKey {
case name, points, description
}
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
let container = try decoder.container(keyedBy: CodingKeys.self)
name = try container.decode(String.self, forKey: .name)
points = try? container.decode(Int.self, forKey: .points)
description = (try? container.decode(String.self, forKey: .description)) ?? "No description"
}
}
// for test
let dict = [["name": "Banana", "points": 100], ["name": "Nut", "description": "Woof"]]
if let data = try? JSONSerialization.data(withJSONObject: dict, options: []) {
let decoder = JSONDecoder()
let result = try? decoder.decode([GroceryProduct].self, from: data)
print("rawResult: \(result)")
let clearedResult = result?.filter { $0.points != nil }
print("clearedResult: \(clearedResult)")
}
I improved on #Hamish's for the case, that you want this behaviour for all arrays:
private struct OptionalContainer<Base: Codable>: Codable {
let base: Base?
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
let container = try decoder.singleValueContainer()
base = try? container.decode(Base.self)
}
}
private struct OptionalArray<Base: Codable>: Codable {
let result: [Base]
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
let container = try decoder.singleValueContainer()
let tmp = try container.decode([OptionalContainer<Base>].self)
result = tmp.compactMap { $0.base }
}
}
extension Array where Element: Codable {
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
let optionalArray = try OptionalArray<Element>(from: decoder)
self = optionalArray.result
}
}
Swift 5
Inspired with previous answers I decode inside Result enum extension.
What do you think about it?
extension Result: Decodable where Success: Decodable, Failure == DecodingError {
public init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
let container: SingleValueDecodingContainer = try decoder.singleValueContainer()
do {
self = .success(try container.decode(Success.self))
} catch {
if let decodingError = error as? DecodingError {
self = .failure(decodingError)
} else {
self = .failure(DecodingError.dataCorrupted(.init(codingPath: [], debugDescription: error.localizedDescription)))
}
}
}
}
Usage
let listResult = try? JSONDecoder().decode([Result<SomeObject, DecodingError>].self, from: ##YOUR DATA##)
let list: [SomeObject] = listResult.compactMap {try? $0.get()}
#Hamish's answer is great. However, you can reduce FailableCodableArray to:
struct FailableCodableArray<Element : Codable> : Codable {
var elements: [Element]
init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
let container = try decoder.singleValueContainer()
let elements = try container.decode([FailableDecodable<Element>].self)
self.elements = elements.compactMap { $0.wrapped }
}
func encode(to encoder: Encoder) throws {
var container = encoder.singleValueContainer()
try container.encode(elements)
}
}
I had a similar issue recently, but slightly different.
struct Person: Codable {
var name: String
var age: Int
var description: String?
var friendnamesArray:[String]?
}
In this case, if one of the element in friendnamesArray is nil, the whole object is nil while decoding.
And the right way to handle this edge case is to declare the string array[String] as array of optional strings[String?] as below,
struct Person: Codable {
var name: String
var age: Int
var description: String?
var friendnamesArray:[String?]?
}
You made the description optional, you should also make the points field optional if there is a chance it could be nil, such as this:
struct GroceryProduct: Codable {
var name: String
var points: Int?
var description: String?
}
Just make sure you safe-unwrap it however you see fit for it's use. I'm guessing nil points == 0 in the actual use case so an example could be:
let products = try JSONDecoder().decode([GroceryProduct].self, from: json)
for product in products {
let name = product.name
let points = product.points ?? 0
let description = product.description ?? ""
ProductView(name, points, description)
}
or in-line:
let products = try JSONDecoder().decode([GroceryProduct].self, from: json)
for product in products {
ProductView(product.name, product.points ?? 0, product.description ?? "")
}
I come up with this KeyedDecodingContainer.safelyDecodeArray that provides a simple interface:
extension KeyedDecodingContainer {
/// The sole purpose of this `EmptyDecodable` is allowing decoder to skip an element that cannot be decoded.
private struct EmptyDecodable: Decodable {}
/// Return successfully decoded elements even if some of the element fails to decode.
func safelyDecodeArray<T: Decodable>(of type: T.Type, forKey key: KeyedDecodingContainer.Key) -> [T] {
guard var container = try? nestedUnkeyedContainer(forKey: key) else {
return []
}
var elements = [T]()
elements.reserveCapacity(container.count ?? 0)
while !container.isAtEnd {
/*
Note:
When decoding an element fails, the decoder does not move on the next element upon failure, so that we can retry the same element again
by other means. However, this behavior potentially keeps `while !container.isAtEnd` looping forever, and Apple does not offer a `.skipFailable`
decoder option yet. As a result, `catch` needs to manually skip the failed element by decoding it into an `EmptyDecodable` that always succeed.
See the Swift ticket https://bugs.swift.org/browse/SR-5953.
*/
do {
elements.append(try container.decode(T.self))
} catch {
if let decodingError = error as? DecodingError {
Logger.error("\(#function): skipping one element: \(decodingError)")
} else {
Logger.error("\(#function): skipping one element: \(error)")
}
_ = try? container.decode(EmptyDecodable.self) // skip the current element by decoding it into an empty `Decodable`
}
}
return elements
}
}
The potentially infinite loop while !container.isAtEnd is a concern, and it's addressed by using EmptyDecodable.
A much simpler attempt:
Why don't you declare points as optional or make the array contain optional elements
let products = [GroceryProduct?]
Features:
Simple use. One line in Decodable instance: let array: CompactDecodableArray<Int>
Is decoded with standard mapping mechanism: JSONDecoder().decode(Model.self, from: data)
skips incorrect elements (returns array with only successful mapped elements)
Details
Xcode 12.1 (12A7403)
Swift 5.3
Solution
class CompactDecodableArray<Element>: Decodable where Element: Decodable {
private(set) var elements = [Element]()
required init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
guard var unkeyedContainer = try? decoder.unkeyedContainer() else { return }
while !unkeyedContainer.isAtEnd {
if let value = try? unkeyedContainer.decode(Element.self) {
elements.append(value)
} else {
unkeyedContainer.skip()
}
}
}
}
// https://forums.swift.org/t/pitch-unkeyeddecodingcontainer-movenext-to-skip-items-in-deserialization/22151/17
struct Empty: Decodable { }
extension UnkeyedDecodingContainer {
mutating func skip() { _ = try? decode(Empty.self) }
}
Usage
struct Model2: Decodable {
let num: Int
let str: String
}
struct Model: Decodable {
let num: Int
let str: String
let array1: CompactDecodableArray<Int>
let array2: CompactDecodableArray<Int>?
let array4: CompactDecodableArray<Model2>
}
let dictionary: [String : Any] = ["num": 1, "str": "blablabla",
"array1": [1,2,3],
"array3": [1,nil,3],
"array4": [["num": 1, "str": "a"], ["num": 2]]
]
let data = try! JSONSerialization.data(withJSONObject: dictionary)
let object = try JSONDecoder().decode(Model.self, from: data)
print("1. \(object.array1.elements)")
print("2. \(object.array2?.elements)")
print("3. \(object.array4.elements)")
Console
1. [1, 2, 3]
2. nil
3. [__lldb_expr_25.Model2(num: 1, str: "a")]