Parse JSON file using GSON

Question

I want to parse this JSON file in JAVA using GSON :

{
    "descriptor" : {
        "app1" : {
            "name" : "mehdi",
            "age" : 21,
            "messages": ["msg 1","msg 2","msg 3"]
        },
        "app2" : {
            "name" : "mkyong",
            "age" : 29,
            "messages": ["msg 11","msg 22","msg 33"]
        },
        "app3" : {
            "name" : "amine",
            "age" : 23,
            "messages": ["msg 111","msg 222","msg 333"]
        }
    }
}

but I don't know how to acceed to the root element which is : descriptor , after that the app3 element and finally the name element.

I followed this tutorial http://www.mkyong.com/java/gson-streaming-to-read-and-write-json/ , but it doesn't show the case of having a root and childs elements.

Answer 1

Imo, the best way to parse your JSON response with GSON would be creating classes that "match" your response and then useGson.fromJson() method.
For example:

class Response {
    Map<String, App> descriptor;
    // standard getters & setters...
}

class App {
  String name;
  int age;
  String[] messages;
  // standard getters & setters...
}

Then just use:

Gson gson = new Gson();
Response response = gson.fromJson(yourJson, Response.class);

Where yourJson can be aString , any Reader , a JsonReader or a JsonElement .

Finally, if you want to access any particular field, you just have to do:

String name = response.getDescriptor().get("app3").getName();

You can always parse the JSON manually as suggested in other answers, but personally I think this approach is clearer, more maintainable in long term and it fits better with the whole idea of JSON.

Answer 2

I'm using gson 2.2.3

public class Main {

/**
 * @param args
 * @throws IOException 
 */
public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {

    JsonReader jsonReader = new JsonReader(new FileReader("jsonFile.json"));

    jsonReader.beginObject();

    while (jsonReader.hasNext()) {

    String name = jsonReader.nextName();
        if (name.equals("descriptor")) {
             readApp(jsonReader);

        }
    }

   jsonReader.endObject();
   jsonReader.close();

}

public static void readApp(JsonReader jsonReader) throws IOException{
    jsonReader.beginObject();
     while (jsonReader.hasNext()) {
         String name = jsonReader.nextName();
         System.out.println(name);
         if (name.contains("app")){
             jsonReader.beginObject();
             while (jsonReader.hasNext()) {
                 String n = jsonReader.nextName();
                 if (n.equals("name")){
                     System.out.println(jsonReader.nextString());
                 }
                 if (n.equals("age")){
                     System.out.println(jsonReader.nextInt());
                 }
                 if (n.equals("messages")){
                     jsonReader.beginArray();
                     while  (jsonReader.hasNext()) {
                          System.out.println(jsonReader.nextString());
                     }
                     jsonReader.endArray();
                 }
             }
             jsonReader.endObject();
         }

     }
     jsonReader.endObject();
}
}

Answer 3

One thing that to be remembered while solving such problems is that in JSON file, a { indicates a JSONObject and a [ indicates JSONArray . If one could manage them properly, it would be very easy to accomplish the task of parsing the JSON file. The above code was really very helpful for me and I hope this content adds some meaning to the above code.

The Gson JsonReader documentation explains how to handle parsing of JsonObjects and JsonArrays :

• Within array handling methods, first call beginArray() to consume the array's opening bracket. Then create a while loop that accumulates values, terminating when hasNext() is false. Finally, read the array's closing bracket by calling endArray().
• Within object handling methods, first call beginObject() to consume the object's opening brace. Then create a while loop that assigns values to local variables based on their name. This loop should terminate when hasNext() is false. Finally, read the object's closing brace by calling endObject().