How to find the outer keys in a nested dictionary
Question:
I have a large nested JSON in python, which I’ve converted to a dictionary. In it, there’s a key called ‘achievements’ in some sub-dictionary (don’t know how far it’s nested). This sub-dictionary is itself either an element of a list, or the value of a key in a larger dictionary.
Assuming all I know is that this key is called ‘achievements’, how can I get its value? It’s fine to assume that the key’s ‘achievements’ name is unique in the entire dictionary at all levels.
Answers:
You can use JSONPath to find this and almost any sort of search path within json quite easily. See the jsonpath-ng library for an example.
In your case, the JSONPath $..achievements will give you what you need.
PS: While you can absolutely write a recursive function to search through the dictionary, JsonPath allows you to write more complex queries, retrieve multiple results, etc. and is a more powerful tool to have in your arsenal.
I have a large nested JSON in python, which I’ve converted to a dictionary. In it, there’s a key called ‘achievements’ in some sub-dictionary (don’t know how far it’s nested). This sub-dictionary is itself either an element of a list, or the value of a key in a larger dictionary.
Assuming all I know is that this key is called ‘achievements’, how can I get its value? It’s fine to assume that the key’s ‘achievements’ name is unique in the entire dictionary at all levels.
You can use JSONPath to find this and almost any sort of search path within json quite easily. See the jsonpath-ng library for an example.
In your case, the JSONPath $..achievements will give you what you need.
PS: While you can absolutely write a recursive function to search through the dictionary, JsonPath allows you to write more complex queries, retrieve multiple results, etc. and is a more powerful tool to have in your arsenal.