How can I split comma separated words wrapped in quotes efficiently in Python?

Question

I've done some basic string parsing in python with split, and I currently have this type of output:

{"repositories":["docker1","myImage","repo123"]}

The "repositories" is guaranteed but the list may go on for hundreds. My first thought is to start at [17:-2] which would leave a comma separated list of quoted words, then split into a list by the commas, and then take each of those words [1:-1].

Is there a more 'elegant' solution to this?

Answer 1

That looks like JSON! Assuming it is...

>>> import json
>>> a = json.loads('{"repositories":["docker1","myImage","repo123"]}')
>>> a['repositories']
["docker1","myImage","repo123"]  # A python list, not a string

If it is guaranteed to be JSON, you can use the above method to convert the string directly into a Python object, obviating the need for any parsing.