Decoding a JSON text file in python

Question

I have a text file where each line is a different JSON array with the same set of keys but different values in each line. Each line is formatted like so:

{"Key A":"Value A1","Key B":"Value B1","Key C":"Value C1, Value C2, Value C3"}

I want to pull the values of one key and the first 4 values of another key and export to a csv file.

I want the output to look like this:

Value A1      ["Value C1", "Value C2", "Value C3"]
Value A12      ["Value C12", "Value C22", "Value C32"]

So far, I've split the file into multiple lines like this:

import json
import csv

jsonmov = []
with open('step3_desired_output.txt') as step3:
    for line in step3:
        jsonmov.append(json.loads(line))


print jsonmov{u'Title',[u'Actors'[0:3]]}  #print each line from jsonmov's title and 4 actors

This gives me an error:

TypeError: list indices must be integers, not tuple

Another syntax for the print line:

print jsonmov(u'Title',u'Actors')

gives the error

TypeError: 'list' object is not callable:

Any ideas on how to produce the csv file in the right format?

When you call json.loads(line) you end up with dictionaries. Attempting to call json.loads(jsonmov) is redundant and causes errors. You already have a list of dictionaries. — g.d.d.c
– g.d.d.c, Commented Feb 11, 2014 at 0:14
sorry, that line was a mistake and i've updated my question...Without that line in place...I get the errors I mentioned — kegewe
– kegewe, Commented Feb 11, 2014 at 0:18
Your sample code is still wrong - list indexing is done using square brackets and numbers: jsonmov[0] -> first dictionary in your list. — g.d.d.c
– g.d.d.c, Commented Feb 11, 2014 at 0:23
@kegewe What is jsonmov{...} supposed to mean (with the curly braces)? — senshin
– senshin, Commented Feb 11, 2014 at 0:23

Hugh Bothwell · Accepted Answer · 2014-02-11 00:30:53Z

1

import json
import csv

INPUT  = 'step3_desired_output.txt'
OUTPUT = 'my.csv'
MAXACTORS = 3

with open(OUTPUT, 'wb') as outf:
    outcsv = csv.writer(outf)
    with open(INPUT) as inf:
        for line in inf:
            mv = json.loads(line)
            title  = mv['Title']
            actors = mv['Actors'].split(', ', MAXACTORS)
            outcsv.writerow([title] + actors[:MAXACTORS])

edited Feb 11, 2014 at 0:30

answered Feb 11, 2014 at 0:23

Hugh Bothwell

57k9 gold badges91 silver badges103 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

Comments

dawg · Accepted Answer · 2014-02-11 01:14:42Z

1

Do you mean something like:

import json
import csv

with open('/tmp/test.json') as f, open('/tmp/jout.csv', 'w') as fout:
    writer=csv.writer(fout)
    for line in f:
        jline=json.loads(line)
        print jline[u'Key A']+'\t['+jline[u'Key C']+']'
        # Value A1  [Value C1, Value C2, Value C3]
        # write to writer...

Edit

Perhaps:

import json

with open('/tmp/test.json') as f, open('/tmp/jout.csv', 'w') as fout:
    for line in f:
        data=[]
        jline=json.loads(line)
        print jline[u'Key A']+'\t['+', '.join('"{}"'.format(e.strip()) for e in jline[u'Key C'].split(','))+']'
        # Value A1  ["Value C1", "Value C2", "Value C3"]
        # add '\n' if you print to a file...

edited Feb 11, 2014 at 1:14

answered Feb 11, 2014 at 0:23

dawg

105k24 gold badges142 silver badges217 bronze badges

3 Comments

kegewe Over a year ago

Actually, I'm curious if there is a way to get quotes around the actors names?

dawg Over a year ago

Add a \n to the end of the line then... The \n is automatic when output to the terminal, not automatic when output to a file.

kegewe Over a year ago

And also, how to get each line from the json file to output onto a separate line

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

Decoding a JSON text file in python

2 Answers 2

Comments

3 Comments

Your Answer

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

2 Answers 2

Comments

3 Comments

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest

Related