Swift Searching For Values inside values of Dictionary - json

Question

I have a URL which my app fetches. it prints a dictionary with two keys but inside one of the keys is a lot of information I would like to get for my app.
The URL gets lots of information but not as a conventional dictionary.
this is a VERY simplified version:
["person":
name: John
height: 187, "fruit": colour: red
]
etc...
so I would just want to get the name of the person inside the key person but I am having trouble finding this.
Is there any way to do this? I have been trying JSON Parsing, for loops and I am stuck.
Edit:
it isn't a dictionary inside a dictionary. If you would like to see what I am working with. Just copy and paste this link. It is an example of what I am using. http://itunes.apple.com/lookup?bundleId=com.burbn.instagram
I would need just the seller name or just the currency etc.
Code to read the link and print it:
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
fetchData { (dict, error) in
print(dict!)
}
}
func fetchData(completion: #escaping ([String:Any]?, Error?) -> Void) {
let url = URL(string: link)!
let task = URLSession.shared.dataTask(with: url) { (data, response, error) in
guard let data = data else { return }
do {
if let array = try JSONSerialization.jsonObject(with: data, options: .allowFragments) as? [String:Any]{
completion(array, nil)
}
} catch {
print(error)
completion(nil, error)
}
}
task.resume()
}

Answer 1

The data you are fetching is JSON. In order to use it, you will have to decode it. The recommended way is using JSONDecoder in Swift.
First you will have to define your model, which correspond to the data model, and make it conform to Codable protocol:
struct App: Codable {
var sellerName: String
// Alternatively, if you don't want to use an enum, you can use a String.
var currency: Currency
enum Currency: String, Codable {
case australianDollar = "AUD",
case britishPound = "GBP",
case euro = "EUR",
case hongKongDollar = "HKD",
case usDollar = "USD"
// Complete this with all the currency…
}
}
struct JSONResult: Codable {
var resultCount: Int
var results: [App]
}
Once this is done, you only have to edit your fetchData method so it returns an array App populated with the data you fetched.
Swift 4 version:
func fetchData(completion: #escaping (JSONResult?, Error?) -> Void) {
guard let url = URL(string: link) else { return }
let task = URLSession.shared.dataTask(with: url) { (data, response, error) in
if let error = error {
completion(nil, error)
return
} else if let data = data {
do {
let decoder = JSONDecoder()
let result = try decoder.decode(JSONResult.self, from: data)
completion(result, nil)
} catch {
print(error)
completion(nil, error)
}
}
}
task.resume()
}
Swift 5 version using Result type:
func fetchData(completion: #escaping (Result<JSONResult, Error>) -> Void) {
guard let url = URL(string: link) else { return }
let task = URLSession.shared.dataTask(with: url) { (data, response, error) in
if let error = error {
completion(.failure(error))
return
} else if let data = data {
do {
let decoder = JSONDecoder()
let result = try decoder.decode(JSONResult.self, from: data)
completion(.success(result))
} catch {
print(error)
completion(.failure(error))
}
}
}
task.resume()
}
More information about JSONDecoder

Answer 2

Dictionary data is:
let dict = ["person": ["name": "John", "height": "187"], "fruit": ["colour": "red"]]
Suppose you need name of the person. So you can do it by the following way.
if let person = dict["person"], let name = person["name"] as? String {
print (name)
}