How to Preserve String Types When Parsing JSON in Python 2?

Preserving String Types When Parsing JSON in Python 2

Parsing JSON in Python 2 can sometimes result in string values being cast to Unicode objects. This can pose challenges when interfacing with libraries that require string objects exclusively.

JSON Conversion to Unicode Objects

When using JSON or simplejson to load ASCII-encoded text files in Python 2, you may encounter the issue where string values are converted to Unicode objects. This is explained by Python 2's default encoding mechanism, which assumes Unicode for text.

Alternative Parsing Option: PyYAML

To resolve this issue, consider using PyYAML to parse JSON files. PyYAML treats keys and values as string objects by default, providing a simple solution for preserving string types.

Example

<code class="python">import yaml
list_dump = json.dumps(['a', 'b'])
yaml.safe_load(list_dump)  # Returns string objects: ['a', 'b']</code>

Notes:

• PyYAML's safe_load function is recommended for JSON parsing.
• Unicode characters will still be preserved in the string objects.
• Ruamel YAML is an alternative YAML parser with more advanced features.

Conversion Function

If PyYAML is not an option or you need to work with Unicode, a conversion function such as the one proposed by Mark Amery can be utilized.

Example

<code class="python">def convert_to_str(data):
    """Convert Unicode values to strings."""
    if isinstance(data, dict):
        return {convert_to_str(k): convert_to_str(v) for k, v in data.items()}
    elif isinstance(data, list):
        return [convert_to_str(v) for v in data]
    elif isinstance(data, unicode):
        return data.encode('utf-8')
    else:
        return data</code>

By using this function as an object_hook during JSON loading, Unicode values will be converted to strings.

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