SWIFT3 JSON NSNull Issue - json

Question

I have the following swift3 code. The JSON can return a NSNull value for the $0[2] value.
struct Player3 {
let name : String
var score : String
let avatar : String
}
class HistoricLeagueVC: UITableViewController {
var players = [Player3]()
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
let urlString = "https://str8red.com/jsonoverallleaderboard/1025/"
let url = URL(string: urlString)
URLSession.shared.dataTask(with:url!) { (data, response, error) in
if error != nil {
print("there was an error")
} else {
do {
let parsedData = try JSONSerialization.jsonObject(with: data!) as! [[String]]
self.players = parsedData.map { Player3(name: $0[0], score: $0[1], avatar: $0[2]) }
print(self.players.count)
DispatchQueue.main.async {
self.tableView.reloadData()
}
} catch let error as NSError {
print(error)
}
}
}.resume()
}
I have tried to convert it to an empty string without success. I have also tried to set a default string such as "https://str8red.com/static/no_profile_picture.png" which ideally is what I would like to do.
The error in the terminal states Could not cast value of type 'NSNull' (0xed1c78) to 'NSString' (0x57b6b8).
Any help would be appreciated.

Answer 1

Do not cast to [[String]] then:
let parsedData = try JSONSerialization.jsonObject(with: data!) as! [[Any]]
self.players = parsedData.map { Player3(
name: ($0[0] as? String) ?? "",
score: ($0[1] as? String) ?? "",
avatar: $0[2] as? String, // keeping `nil` here
)}
You should probably even as! [[Any]] do in a safer manner (using as?) but the above will work.

Answer 2

Your code will crash brutally if anything goes wrong with your input data. Ask your boss if he or she is Ok with that. I wouldn't. Here's how you will crash: If data == nil (but it shouldn't be if error == nil). You catch the problem that data cannot be parsed without crashing. You crash if data doesn't parse to an array, you crash if the elements of the array are not all arrays, you crash if the elements inside the inner arrays are not all Strings, and you crash if any of the inner arrays contain two or fewer strings. I'd say that is pretty unacceptable.
My strategy would be: If the response cannot be parsed or is not an array of arrays, then ignore it, leaving self.players unchanged. If there is an array of arrays, reset self.players, then add a player for each array that contains at least three items, of which the first two must be strings.
guard data != nil else { return }
guard let parsed = try? NSJSONSerialization(with: data!) else { return }
guard let arrays = parsed as? [[Any]] else { return }
self.players.removeAll()
for array in arrays {
guard array.count >= 3,
let name = array [0] as? String,
let score = array [1] as? String else { continue }
let avatar = array [2] as? String ?? ""
self.players.append(Player3 (name: name, score: score, avatar: avatar))
}
It's a good idea to move something like this into a separate method. Add whatever error handling or logging you feel is appropriate.