[ios] How to use NSJSONSerialization

I have a JSON string (from PHP's json_encode() that looks like this:

[{"id": "1", "name":"Aaa"}, {"id": "2", "name":"Bbb"}]

I want to parse this into some sort of data structure for my iPhone app. I guess the best thing for me would be to have an array of dictionaries, so the 0th element in the array is a dictionary with keys "id" => "1" and "name" => "Aaa".

I do not understand how the NSJSONSerialization stores the data though. Here is my code so far:

NSError *e = nil;
NSDictionary *JSON = [NSJSONSerialization 
    JSONObjectWithData: data 
    options: NSJSONReadingMutableContainers 
    error: &e];

This is just something I saw as an example on another website. I have been trying to get a read on the JSON object by printing out the number of elements and things like that, but I am always getting EXC_BAD_ACCESS.

How do I use NSJSONSerialization to parse the JSON above, and turn it into the data structure I mentioned?

The following code fetches a JSON object from a webserver, and parses it to an NSDictionary. I have used the openweathermap API that returns a simple JSON response for this example. For keeping it simple, this code uses synchronous requests.

   NSString *urlString   = @"http://api.openweathermap.org/data/2.5/weather?q=London,uk"; // The Openweathermap JSON responder
   NSURL *url            = [[NSURL alloc]initWithString:urlString];
   NSURLRequest *request = [NSURLRequest requestWithURL:url];
   NSURLResponse *response;
   NSData *GETReply      = [NSURLConnection sendSynchronousRequest:request returningResponse:&response error:nil];
   NSDictionary *res     = [NSJSONSerialization JSONObjectWithData:GETReply options:NSJSONReadingMutableLeaves|| NSJSONReadingMutableContainers error:nil];
   Nslog(@"%@",res);

The issue seems to be with autorelease of objects. NSJSONSerialization JSONObjectWithData is obviously creating some autoreleased objects and passing it back to you. If you try to take that on to a different thread, it will not work since it cannot be deallocated on a different thread.

Trick might be to try doing a mutable copy of that dictionary or array and use it.

NSError *e = nil;
id jsonObject = [NSJSONSerialization 
JSONObjectWithData: data 
options: NSJSONReadingMutableContainers 
error: &e] mutableCopy];

Treating a NSDictionary as NSArray will not result in Bad access exception but instead will probably crash when a method call is made.

Also, may be the options do not really matter here but it is better to give NSJSONReadingMutableContainers | NSJSONReadingMutableContainers | NSJSONReadingAllowFragments but even if they are autoreleased objects it may not solve this issue.

NOTE: For Swift 3. Your JSON String is returning Array instead of Dictionary. Please try out the following:

        //Your JSON String to be parsed
        let jsonString = "[{\"id\": \"1\", \"name\":\"Aaa\"}, {\"id\": \"2\", \"name\":\"Bbb\"}]";

        //Converting Json String to NSData
        let data = jsonString.data(using: .utf8)

        do {

            //Parsing data & get the Array
            let jsonData = try JSONSerialization.jsonObject(with: data!, options: .allowFragments) as! [AnyObject]

            //Print the whole array object
            print(jsonData)

            //Get the first object of the Array
            let firstPerson = jsonData[0] as! [String:Any]

            //Looping the (key,value) of first object
            for (key, value) in firstPerson {
                //Print the (key,value)
                print("\(key) - \(value) ")
            }

        } catch let error as NSError {
            //Print the error
            print(error)
        }

[{"id": "1", "name":"Aaa"}, {"id": "2", "name":"Bbb"}]

In above JSON data, you are showing that we have an array contaning the number of dictionaries.

You need to use this code for parsing it:

NSError *e = nil;
NSArray *JSONarray = [NSJSONSerialization JSONObjectWithData: data options: NSJSONReadingMutableContainers error: &e];
        for(int i=0;i<[JSONarray count];i++)
        {
            NSLog(@"%@",[[JSONarray objectAtIndex:i]objectForKey:@"id"]);
             NSLog(@"%@",[[JSONarray objectAtIndex:i]objectForKey:@"name"]);
        }

For swift 3/3+

   //Pass The response data & get the Array
    let jsonData = try JSONSerialization.jsonObject(with: data!, options: .allowFragments) as! [AnyObject]
    print(jsonData)
    // considering we are going to get array of dictionary from url

    for  item  in jsonData {
        let dictInfo = item as! [String:AnyObject]
        print(dictInfo["id"])
        print(dictInfo["name"])
    }

#import "homeViewController.h"
#import "detailViewController.h"

@interface homeViewController ()

@end

@implementation homeViewController

- (id)initWithStyle:(UITableViewStyle)style
{
    self = [super initWithStyle:style];
    if (self) {
        // Custom initialization
    }
    return self;
}

- (void)viewDidLoad
{
    [super viewDidLoad];
    self.tableView.frame = CGRectMake(0, 20, 320, 548);
    self.title=@"Jason Assignment";

    // Uncomment the following line to preserve selection between presentations.
    // self.clearsSelectionOnViewWillAppear = NO;

    // Uncomment the following line to display an Edit button in the navigation bar for this view controller.
    // self.navigationItem.rightBarButtonItem = self.editButtonItem;
    [self clientServerCommunication];
}

-(void)clientServerCommunication
{
    NSURL *url = [NSURL URLWithString:@"http://182.72.122.106/iphonetest/getTheData.php"];
    NSURLRequest *req = [NSURLRequest requestWithURL:url];
    NSURLConnection *connection = [[NSURLConnection alloc]initWithRequest:req delegate:self];
    if (connection)
    {
        webData = [[NSMutableData alloc]init];
    }
}
- (void)connection:(NSURLConnection *)connection didReceiveResponse:(NSURLResponse *)response
{
    [webData setLength:0];
}

- (void)connection:(NSURLConnection *)connection didReceiveData:(NSData *)data
{
    [webData appendData:data];
}

- (void)connectionDidFinishLoading:(NSURLConnection *)connection
{
    NSDictionary *responseDict = [NSJSONSerialization JSONObjectWithData:webData options:0 error:nil];

    /*Third party API
     NSString *respStr = [[NSString alloc]initWithData:webData encoding:NSUTF8StringEncoding];
     SBJsonParser *objSBJson = [[SBJsonParser alloc]init];
     NSDictionary *responseDict = [objSBJson objectWithString:respStr]; */
    resultArray = [[NSArray alloc]initWithArray:[responseDict valueForKey:@"result"]];
    NSLog(@"resultArray: %@",resultArray);
    [self.tableView reloadData];
}


- (void)didReceiveMemoryWarning
{
    [super didReceiveMemoryWarning];
    // Dispose of any resources that can be recreated.
}

#pragma mark - Table view data source

- (NSInteger)numberOfSectionsInTableView:(UITableView *)tableView
{
//#warning Potentially incomplete method implementation.
    // Return the number of sections.
    return 1;
}

- (NSInteger)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView numberOfRowsInSection:(NSInteger)section
{
//#warning Incomplete method implementation.
    // Return the number of rows in the section.
    return [resultArray count];
}

- (UITableViewCell *)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView cellForRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath
{
    static NSString *CellIdentifier = @"Cell";
    UITableViewCell *cell = [tableView dequeueReusableCellWithIdentifier:CellIdentifier];
    if (cell == nil) {
        cell = [[UITableViewCell alloc] initWithStyle:UITableViewCellStyleSubtitle reuseIdentifier:CellIdentifier];
    }

    // Configure the cell...
    cell.textLabel.text = [[resultArray objectAtIndex:indexPath.row] valueForKey:@"name"];
    cell.detailTextLabel.text = [[resultArray objectAtIndex:indexPath.row] valueForKey:@"designation"];

    NSData *imageData = [NSData dataWithContentsOfURL:[NSURL URLWithString:[[resultArray objectAtIndex:indexPath.row] valueForKey:@"image"]]];
cell.imageview.image = [UIImage imageWithData:imageData];

    return cell;
}

/*
// Override to support conditional editing of the table view.
- (BOOL)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView canEditRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath
{
    // Return NO if you do not want the specified item to be editable.
    return YES;
}
*/

/*
// Override to support editing the table view.
- (void)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView commitEditingStyle:(UITableViewCellEditingStyle)editingStyle forRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath
{
    if (editingStyle == UITableViewCellEditingStyleDelete) {
        // Delete the row from the data source
        [tableView deleteRowsAtIndexPaths:@[indexPath] withRowAnimation:UITableViewRowAnimationFade];
    }   
    else if (editingStyle == UITableViewCellEditingStyleInsert) {
        // Create a new instance of the appropriate class, insert it into the array, and add a new row to the table view
    }   
}
*/

/*
// Override to support rearranging the table view.
- (void)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView moveRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)fromIndexPath toIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)toIndexPath
{
}
*/

/*
// Override to support conditional rearranging of the table view.
- (BOOL)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView canMoveRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath
{
    // Return NO if you do not want the item to be re-orderable.
    return YES;
}
*/


#pragma mark - Table view delegate

// In a xib-based application, navigation from a table can be handled in -tableView:didSelectRowAtIndexPath:
- (void)tableView:(UITableView *)tableView didSelectRowAtIndexPath:(NSIndexPath *)indexPath
{
    // Navigation logic may go here, for example:
     //Create the next view controller.
    detailViewController *detailViewController1 = [[detailViewController alloc]initWithNibName:@"detailViewController" bundle:nil];

 //detailViewController *detailViewController = [[detailViewController alloc] initWithNibName:@"detailViewController" bundle:nil];

 // Pass the selected object to the new view controller.

 // Push the view controller.
 detailViewController1.nextDict = [[NSDictionary alloc]initWithDictionary:[resultArray objectAtIndex:indexPath.row]];
 [self.navigationController pushViewController:detailViewController1 animated:YES];

    // Pass the selected object to the new view controller.

    // Push the view controller.
  //  [self.navigationController pushViewController:detailViewController animated:YES];
}



@end

- (void)viewDidLoad
{
    [super viewDidLoad];
    // Do any additional setup after loading the view from its nib.
    empName.text=[nextDict valueForKey:@"name"];
    deptlbl.text=[nextDict valueForKey:@"department"];
    designationLbl.text=[nextDict valueForKey:@"designation"];
    idLbl.text=[nextDict valueForKey:@"id"];
    salaryLbl.text=[nextDict valueForKey:@"salary"];
    NSString *ImageURL = [nextDict valueForKey:@"image"];
    NSData *imageData = [NSData dataWithContentsOfURL:[NSURL URLWithString:ImageURL]];
    image.image = [UIImage imageWithData:imageData];
}

It works for me. Your data object is probably nil and, as rckoenes noted, the root object should be a (mutable) array. See this code:

NSString *jsonString = @"[{\"id\": \"1\", \"name\":\"Aaa\"}, {\"id\": \"2\", \"name\":\"Bbb\"}]";
NSData *jsonData = [jsonString dataUsingEncoding:NSUTF8StringEncoding];
NSError *e = nil;
NSMutableArray *json = [NSJSONSerialization JSONObjectWithData:jsonData options:NSJSONReadingMutableContainers error:&e];
NSLog(@"%@", json);

(I had to escape the quotes in the JSON string with backslashes.)

bad example, should be something like this {"id":1, "name":"something as name"}

number and string are mixed.

Your code seems fine except the result is an NSArray, not an NSDictionary, here is an example:

The first two lines just creates a data object with the JSON, the same as you would get reading it from the net.

NSString *jsonString = @"[{\"id\": \"1\", \"name\":\"Aaa\"}, {\"id\": \"2\", \"name\":\"Bbb\"}]";
NSData *jsonData = [jsonString dataUsingEncoding:NSUTF8StringEncoding];

NSError *e;
NSMutableArray *jsonList = [NSJSONSerialization JSONObjectWithData:jsonData options:NSJSONReadingMutableContainers error:&e];
NSLog(@"jsonList: %@", jsonList);

NSLog contents (a list of dictionaries):

jsonList: (
           {
               id = 1;
               name = Aaa;
           },
           {
               id = 2;
               name = Bbb;
           }
           )

Swift 2.0 on Xcode 7 (Beta) with do/try/catch block:

// MARK: NSURLConnectionDataDelegate

func connectionDidFinishLoading(connection:NSURLConnection) {
  do {
    if let response:NSDictionary = try NSJSONSerialization.JSONObjectWithData(receivedData, options:NSJSONReadingOptions.MutableContainers) as? Dictionary<String, AnyObject> {
      print(response)
    } else {
      print("Failed...")
    }
  } catch let serializationError as NSError {
    print(serializationError)
  }
}

This is my code for checking if the received json is an array or dictionary:

NSError *jsonError = nil;
id jsonObject = [NSJSONSerialization JSONObjectWithData:jsonData options:kNilOptions error:&jsonError];

if ([jsonObject isKindOfClass:[NSArray class]]) {
    NSLog(@"its an array!");
    NSArray *jsonArray = (NSArray *)jsonObject;
    NSLog(@"jsonArray - %@",jsonArray);
}
else {
    NSLog(@"its probably a dictionary");
    NSDictionary *jsonDictionary = (NSDictionary *)jsonObject;
    NSLog(@"jsonDictionary - %@",jsonDictionary);
}

I have tried this for options:kNilOptions and NSJSONReadingMutableContainers and works correctly for both.

Obviously, the actual code cannot be this way where I create the NSArray or NSDictionary pointer within the if-else block.

@rckoenes already showed you how to correctly get your data from the JSON string.

To the question you asked: EXC_BAD_ACCESS almost always comes when you try to access an object after it has been [auto-]released. This is not specific to JSON [de-]serialization but, rather, just has to do with you getting an object and then accessing it after it's been released. The fact that it came via JSON doesn't matter.

There are many-many pages describing how to debug this -- you want to Google (or SO) obj-c zombie objects and, in particular, NSZombieEnabled, which will prove invaluable to you in helping determine the source of your zombie objects. ("Zombie" is what it's called when you release an object but keep a pointer to it and try to reference it later.)