How to read a file as a list / dict?

Question

I have a file which has the same structure as python list / dictionaries, i.e.

[
    {
      "key1" : "value1",
      "key2" : "value2",
       ...
    },
    {
      "key1" : "value3",
      "key2" : "value4",
      ...
    },
    ...
]

Is there some easy way how to read this file and convert it into a list of dictionaries?

It looks like this is `json`... You can use the [`json`](https://docs.python.org/2/library/json.html) library. — Willem Van Onsem, Jun 18 '17 at 13:48
Or, in more general case, look [here](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/4803999/python-file-to-dictionary). — ArturFH, Jun 18 '17 at 13:51

score 13 · Accepted Answer · answered Jun 18 '17 at 13:55

13

with open('your_file', encoding='utf-8') as data_file:
   data = json.loads(data_file.read())

answered Jun 18 '17 at 13:55

khelili miliana

3,730
2
15
28

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 18 '17 at 13:52

2

if the file is a json file, then

import json
with open('file_url') as data_file:    
    data = json.load(data_file)
    print(data[0]['key1'])        
    print(data[0]['key2'])

answered Jun 18 '17 at 13:52

hasbi

520
3
10

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Jun 18 '17 at 13:51

1

I think you want to look into the JSON module. If that is the format of your file, of course. If not, you can write your own text parser. It'd be helpful to have more information about your use case, where the file comes from, and that kind of stuff.

answered Jun 18 '17 at 13:51

Owen Hempel

434
2
8

How to read a file as a list / dict?

3 Answers3