Check if key exists and iterate the JSON array using Python

Question

I have a bunch of JSON data from Facebook posts like the one below:

{"from": {"id": "8", "name": "Mary Pinter"}, "message": "How ARE you?", "comments": {"count": 0}, "updated_time": "2012-05-01", "created_time": "2012-05-01", "to": {"data": [{"id": "1543", "name": "Honey Pinter"}]}, "type": "status", "id": "id_7"}

The JSON data is semi-structured and all is not the same. Below is my code:

import json 

str = '{"from": {"id": "8", "name": "Mary Pinter"}, "message": "How ARE you?", "comments": {"count": 0}, "updated_time": "2012-05-01", "created_time": "2012-05-01", "to": {"data": [{"id": "1543", "name": "Honey Pinter"}]}, "type": "status", "id": "id_7"}'
data = json.loads(str)

post_id = data['id']
post_type = data['type']
print(post_id)
print(post_type)

created_time = data['created_time']
updated_time = data['updated_time']
print(created_time)
print(updated_time)

if data.get('application'):
    app_id = data['application'].get('id', 0)
    print(app_id)
else:
    print('null')

#if data.get('to'):
#... This is the part I am not sure how to do
# Since it is in the form "to": {"data":[{"id":...}]}

I want the code to print the to_id as 1543 else print 'null'

I am not sure how to do this.

Answer 1

import json

jsonData = """{"from": {"id": "8", "name": "Mary Pinter"}, "message": "How ARE you?", "comments": {"count": 0}, "updated_time": "2012-05-01", "created_time": "2012-05-01", "to": {"data": [{"id": "1543", "name": "Honey Pinter"}]}, "type": "status", "id": "id_7"}"""

def getTargetIds(jsonData):
    data = json.loads(jsonData)
    if 'to' not in data:
        raise ValueError("No target in given data")
    if 'data' not in data['to']:
        raise ValueError("No data for target")

    for dest in data['to']['data']:
        if 'id' not in dest:
            continue
        targetId = dest['id']
        print("to_id:", targetId)

Output:

In [9]: getTargetIds(s)
to_id: 1543