Converting JSON Data to Python Object While Ignoring Lists

This guide provides an insightful guide on how to convert JSON data to a Python object, allowing you to access nested structures easily while keeping lists intact. Perfect for those working with neural network configurations!
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This video is based on the question https://stackoverflow.com/q/65344607/ asked by the user 'th0mash' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/9548111/ ) and on the answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/65346932/ provided by the user 'Pierre D' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/758174/ ) at 'Stack Overflow' website. Thanks to these great users and Stackexchange community for their contributions.

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Converting JSON Data to a Python Object While Ignoring Lists

If you're working with JSON data, especially when it contains configurations for complex structures like neural networks, you might encounter a challenge. You may want to convert the JSON file into a Python object for easy access, but you might want to exclude lists from being converted into objects. This is particularly useful if the lists contain items you'd like to access without additional conversions that could complicate your code. In this post, we will walk you through an approach that allows you to achieve this seamlessly.

Understanding the Problem

Imagine you have a JSON file that looks like this:

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You want to convert this JSON data into a Python object such that you can access the nested properties using dot notation, like config.network.layers. However, you want layers to remain a list, allowing you to work with it easily.

The Solution

Step 1: Define a Bunch Class

We can use a simple class called Bunch that will allow us to access dictionary key-value pairs as attributes. Here's how this class looks:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Step 2: Create a Function to Convert to Bunch

Next, we'll write a function called to_bunch that recursively converts a dictionary into a Bunch object. The key aspect here is that we will check the type of the values in the dictionary — if a value is another dictionary, we convert it into a Bunch, while if it's a list, we leave it as is.

Here's the function definition:

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Step 3: Example Usage

Now, let's see how this works with the provided JSON data. First, you would load the JSON data as shown below:

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Then, you would convert this dictionary to a Bunch object using:

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Accessing Data

Once you've done the conversion, accessing the properties becomes straightforward. For instance:

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This would output the list of layer configurations:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Bonus: Enhanced Usability

Working with the Bunch class is not just about the convenience of dot notation; if you are in an interactive environment, you can benefit from tab-completion as well. This means when you type config. and hit <TAB>, you'll see suggestions for name and network, making it even easier to work with your data.

Conclusion

By using the Bunch class and a recursive approach to convert dictionaries, you can easily handle JSON data while still maintaining lists in their original form. This method is particularly useful when you're working with configurations for neural networks or similar structures where accessing nested properties cleanly is essential. Try it out in your next Python project and enjoy the benefits of clean, accessible code!

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