Java convert String that looks like an Array into a String Array or String ArrayList

Question

I have a String that looks like an Array:

["944", "The name", "Hi, hi", 1, 6, 0, false, "the date"]

NOTE: The above is wrapped in " , like a String would be. So the integers and boolean are in this String and those like "944" are also in the String, a String in a String if you will.

How do I take that and make it a Java String Array or ArrayList of Strings?

Answer 1

I solved it using Gson.

Type listType = new TypeToken<List<String>>() {}.getType();
List<String> postData = new Gson().fromJson(stringThatLooksLikeArray, listType);

Answer 2

Trim the head and tail of non-data then split:

String[] parts = str.replaceAll("^\\[|\\]$", "").split(",(?=(([^\"]*\"){2})*[^\"]*$)");

The look ahead assets that the comma being split on is not within a quote pair.