Python JSON

JSON is a syntax for storing and exchanging data.JSON is text, written with JavaScript object notation

JSON in Python

Python has a built-in package called json, which can be used to work with JSON data.

Example

Import the json module:

import json

Parse JSON - Convert from JSON to Python

If you have a JSON string, you can parse it by using the json.loads() method.

The result will be a Python dictionary.

Example

Convert from JSON to Python:

import json

# some JSON:
x =  '{ "name":"John", "age":30, "city":"New York"}'

# parse x:
y = json.loads(x)

# the result is a Python dictionary:
print(y["age"])

Convert from Python to JSON

If you have a Python object, you can convert it into a JSON string by using the json.dumps() method.

Example

Convert from Python to JSON:

import json

# a Python object (dict):
x = {
  "name": "John",
  "age": 30,
  "city": "New York"
}

# convert into JSON:
y = json.dumps(x)

# the result is a JSON string:
print(y)

You can convert Python objects of the following types, into JSON strings:

  • dict
  • list
  • tuple
  • string
  • int
  • float
  • True
  • False
  • None
  • Example

    Convert Python objects into JSON strings, and print the values:

    import json

    print(json.dumps({"name": "John", "age": 30}))
    print(json.dumps(["apple", "bananas"]))
    print(json.dumps(("apple", "bananas")))
    print(json.dumps("hello"))
    print(json.dumps(42))
    print(json.dumps(31.76))
    print(json.dumps(True))
    print(json.dumps(False))
    print(json.dumps(None))

    When you convert from Python to JSON, Python objects are converted into the JSON (JavaScript) equivalent:

    Python JSON
    dict Object
    list Array
    tuple Array
    str String
    int Number
    float Number
    True true
    False false
    None null

    Example

    Convert a Python object containing all the legal data types:

    import json

    x = {
      "name": "John",
      "age": 30,
      "married": True,
      "divorced": False,
      "children": ("Ann","Billy"),
      "pets": None,
      "cars": [
        {"model": "BMW 230", "mpg": 27.5},
        {"model": "Ford Edge", "mpg": 24.1}
      ]
    }

    print(json.dumps(x))

    Format the Result

    The example above prints a JSON string, but it is not very easy to read, with no indentations and line breaks.

    The json.dumps() method has parameters to make it easier to read the result:

    Example

    Use the indent parameter to define the numbers of indents:

    json.dumps(x, indent=4)

    You can also define the separators, default value is (", ", ": "), which means using a comma and a space to separate each object, and a colon and a space to separate keys from values:

    Example

    Use the separators parameter to change the default separator:

    json.dumps(x, indent=4, separators=(". ", " = "))

    Order the Result

    The json.dumps() method has parameters to order the keys in the result:

    Example

    Use the sort_keys parameter to specify if the result should be sorted or not:

    json.dumps(x, indent=4, sort_keys=True)