How to create JSONP on MacOS? - objective-c

I use the following code to create a JSON file.
// Some data in keys and vals.
NSDictionary* dictionary = [NSDictionary dictionaryWithObjects:vals forKeys:keys];
NSError* writeError = nil;
NSData* jsonData = [NSJSONSerialization dataWithJSONObject:dictionary
options:NSJSONWritingPrettyPrinted error:&writeError];
NSString* path = #"json.txt";
[jsonData writeToFile:path atomically:YES];
How can I output a JSONP file? Is there a Cocoa framework I can use?
Update: In the meantime, I used a quick-and-dirty solution: I read in the JSON file just written before to the disc and add the missing JSONP-function to the string. Then, I write the file a second time. I think that's not worth being the answer to my question. So I will leave this question open to a smarter solution.

You could convert the JSON data to a string, wrap it in your function call and then write it to a file. Example:
NSData* jsonData = [NSJSONSerialization dataWithJSONObject:dictionary
options:NSJSONWritingPrettyPrinted
error:NULL];
NSMutableString *jsonString = [[[NSMutableString alloc] initWithData:jsonData
encoding:NSUTF8StringEncoding] autorelease];
[jsonString insertString:#"functionCall(" atIndex:0];
[jsonString appendString:#");"];
[jsonString writeToFile:path atomically:YES encoding:NSUTF8StringEncoding error:NULL];
(I'm using a mutable string here for better memory efficiency.)

I don't know objective-c or Cocoa. (I use python on MacOS to create JSNOP responses), but it's a simple thing to do.
The basic idea is to wrap the JSON data in a javascript function call:
functionCall({"Name": "Foo", "Id" : 1234, "Rank": 7});
The tricky part is that the function name, "functionCall", is set by the browser and AFAIK the name of that query parameter is not standardized. jQuery uses jsonCallback. Other's use json or callback. So the request url must be checked for that callback name and that function name must be used to wrap the json data.

Related

Converting a JSON file to NSMutableDictionary in Objective C?

I have a json file that looks like this:
{
"data":
{
"level": [
{
//bunch of stuff
}
]
}
}
Now I want to convert that into a array of levels that I can access. If I take away the {"data: part, then I can use this:
NSData *allLevelsData = [[NSData alloc] initWithContentsOfFile:fileLoc];
NSError *error = nil;
NSMutableDictionary *allLevels = [NSJSONSerialization JSONObjectWithData:allLevelsData options:kNilOptions error:&error];
if(!error){
NSMutableArray *level = allLevels[#"level"];
for (NSMutableDictionary *aLevel in level){
//do stuff with the level...
But I have to have the {"data: as part of the file, and I can't figure out how to get a NSData object out of the existing NSData object. Any ideas?
Don't you need to pull the level NSArray out of the data NSDictionary first?
NSData *allLevelsData = [[NSData alloc] initWithContentsOfFile:fileLoc];
NSError *error = nil;
NSDictionary *dataDictionary = [NSJSONSerialization JSONObjectWithData:allLevelsData options:kNilOptions error:&error];
if(!error){
NSArray *levels = dataDictionary[#"data"][#"level"];
for (NSDictionary *aLevel in levels){
//do stuff with the level...
You won't get mutable objects back by default and declaring the variables as mutable doesn't make them so. Take a mutableCopy of the result instead (assuming you really do need mutability).
Why are you trying to prune ahead of time? If you decode the original JSON, you'll be able to extract the level array from the data dict in the decoded dict.
It's not clear what else you're trying to accomplish or why you are going the path you ask about. Note, this doesn't necessarily mean your path is wrong, just that without a clearer indication of what goal you're really trying to accomplish or what you've actually tried (and errored/failed, along with how it failed), you're likely only to get vague/general answers like this.

How to get same JSON string output on iOS and Rails?

I have a JSON document on iOS and an identical document in Rails. When I serialize it on iOS, I need it to be character-for-character equivalent to the serialized string from Rails. However, when I try this, the outputs are mostly the same, but not quite.
On iOS:
id jsonObj;
NSData *jsonData = [NSJSONSerialization dataWithJSONObject:jsonObj options:0 error:nil];
NSString *string = [[NSString alloc] initWithData:jsonData encoding:NSUTF8StringEncoding];
On the Ruby side:
jsonObj // contains exactly the same content as the objc version
string = JSON.generate(jsonObj)
The issue I'm having is that Ruby's JSON.generate() doesn't output a JSON string in the same format as NSJSONSerialization on iOS. Is there any way to make them behave the same? Or is there another serialization method I can use to get consistent results on iOS and Rails?
One difference between the two that I spotted was that the original object had the text "N/A" in it. Rails outputs this as-is, while iOS escapes it to "N\ /A". Is there another string encoding option I can use on the iOS side to fix this?
Edit:
Here's a better example:
id json = #{ #"str": #"N/A" };
NSError *error = nil;
NSData *jsonData = [NSJSONSerialization dataWithJSONObject:json options:0 error:&error];
NSString *jsonString = [[NSString alloc] initWithData:jsonData encoding:NSUTF8StringEncoding];
NSLog(#"jsonString = '%#'", jsonString);
// prints "jsonString = '{"str":"N\/A"}'"
And the ruby equivalent:
json = { "str" => "N/A" }
jsonString = JSON.generate(json)
puts "jsonString = '#{jsonString}'"
// prints "jsonString = '{"str":"N/A"}'"
I also wrote both outputs to files and compared them again, with the same results.

modifying json data in a local file using SBjson

I have recently started Application development on MAC OS 10.6, I am trying to modify a "key/value" pair in a local JSON file on my MAC machine using SBJSON. I have successfully read the value of a key, but I am not able to get that how to modify the value of a key and synchronize this to the JSON file. Lets suppose, I have a following JSON Data int o a local file:
{
"name": {
"fName":"John",
"lName":"Doe"
}
}
And i want to change the value of "fName" to something else, like Robert.
I have tried alot searching about it, but got no clue... Can anyone help me.
I am using SBJSON Framework!
Code:
NSString *filePath = #"/Users/dev/Desktop/SQLiteFile/myJSON2.json";
NSData *myData = [NSData dataWithContentsOfFile:filePath];
NSString *responseString = [[NSString alloc] initWithData:myData encoding:NSUTF8StringEncoding];
NSLog(#"FILE CONTENT : %#", responseString);
SBJsonParser *jsonParser = [[SBJsonParser alloc] init];
NSDictionary * dictionary = (NSDictionary*)[jsonParser objectWithString:responseString error:NULL];
[dictionary setObject:#"Robert" forKey:#"fName"];
//
// Code for writing this change into the file, which i needed.
//
[jsonParser release];
You want a mutable deep copy of your dictionary. Then you'll be able to modify it.

How to convert json string to nsdictionary on json parser framework on objective c

I am trying to convert raw json string to NSDictionary. but on NSDictionary i got different order of objects as on json string but i need exactly same order in NSDictionary as on json string. following is code i have used to convert json string
SBJSON *objJson = [[SBJSON alloc] init];
NSError *error = nil;
NSDictionary *dictResults = [objJson objectWithString:jsonString error:&error];
From NSDictionary's class reference:
The order of the keys is not defined.
So, basically you can't do this when using a standard NSDictionary.
However, this may be a good reason for subclassing NSDictionary itself. See this question about the details.
NSDictionary is an associative array and does not preserve order of it's elements. If you know all your keys, then you can create some array, that holds all keys in correct order (you can also pass it with your JSON as an additional parameter). Example:
NSArray* ordered_keys = [NSArray arrayWithObjects: #"key1", #"key2", #"key3", .., nil];
for(NSString* key is ordered_keys) {
NSLog(#"%#", [json_dict valueForKey: key]);
}
//parse out the json data
NSError* error;
NSDictionary* json = [NSJSONSerialization
JSONObjectWithData:responseData //1
options:kNilOptions
error:&error];
NSArray* latestLoans = [json objectForKey:#"loans"]; //2
NSLog(#"loans: %#", latestLoans); //3
Source: Follow this link http://www.raywenderlich.com/5492/working-with-json-in-ios-5
Good tutorial but works only on iOS5

Write to file not working

I'm trying to combine images in my app into one file and write it to disk.
NSMutableArray *array = [NSMutableArray arrayWithObjects:
[NSData dataWithContentsOfFile:#"0.png"],
[NSData dataWithContentsOfFile:#"1.png"],
[NSData dataWithContentsOfFile:#"2.png"],
nil];
NSData *data = [NSKeyedArchiver archivedDataWithRootObject:array];
NSError *error = nil;
NSString *path=#"/Users/myusername/Desktop/_stuff.dat";
[data writeToFile:path options:NSDataWritingAtomic error:&error];
or
NSArray *array = [NSArray arrayWithObjects:
[NSImage imageNamed:#"0"],
[NSImage imageNamed:#"1"],
[NSImage imageNamed:#"2"],
nil];
NSData *data = [NSKeyedArchiver archivedDataWithRootObject:array];
NSError *error = nil;
NSString *path=#"/Users/myusername/Desktop/_stuff.dat";
[data writeToFile:path options:NSDataWritingAtomic error:&error];
But both produce a file that is 4KB (empty). If I NSLog the error it is (null). Am I making the data the wrong way?
Edit: If I open the resulting file with a text editor, it looks like this:
I wrote a quick example:
Missing: memory management / error handling / proper file handling
// Archive
NSMutableArray *array = [[NSMutableArray alloc] init];
NSString * input = #"/Users/Anne/Desktop/1.png";
[array addObject:[NSData dataWithContentsOfFile:input]];
[array addObject:[NSData dataWithContentsOfFile:input]];
[array addObject:[NSData dataWithContentsOfFile:input]];
NSData *data = [NSKeyedArchiver archivedDataWithRootObject:array];
NSString *path = #"/Users/Anne/Desktop/archive.dat";
[data writeToFile:path options:NSDataWritingAtomic error:nil];
// Unarchive
NSMutableArray *archive = [NSKeyedUnarchiver unarchiveObjectWithFile:path];
NSData * firstObject = [archive objectAtIndex:0];
NSString * output = #"/Users/Anne/Desktop/2.png";
NSURL *fileURL = [[NSURL alloc] initFileURLWithPath:output];
[firstObject writeToURL:fileURL atomically:YES];
You can also add NSImages to the NSMutableArray:
NSString * input = #"/Users/Anne/Desktop/1.png";
NSImage *image = [[NSImage alloc] initWithContentsOfFile: input];
[array addObject:image];
But that will significantly increase the file size.
Response to the following comment:
So if I only need to access an image at runtime (in the archive), is there a way to access that image at an index without unarchiving the whole thing? Seems like unnecessary overhead to me.
I assume you're still struggling with this problem?
Hiding (or encrypting) app resources?
Like i mentioned earlier, combining all files into one big file does the trick.
Just make sure you remember the file-length of each file and file-order.
Then you can extract any specific file you like without reading the whole file.
This might be a more sufficient way if you only need to extract one file at the time.
Quick 'dirty' sample:
// Two sample files
NSData *fileOne = [NSData dataWithContentsOfFile:#"/Users/Anne/Desktop/1.png"];
NSData *fileTwo = [NSData dataWithContentsOfFile:#"/Users/Anne/Desktop/2.png"];
// Get file length
int fileOneLength = [fileOne length];
int fileTwoLength = [fileTwo length];
// Combine files into one container
NSMutableData * container = [[NSMutableData alloc] init];
[container appendData:fileOne];
[container appendData:fileTwo];
// Write container to disk
[container writeToFile:#"/Users/Anne/Desktop/container.data" atomically:YES];
// Read data and extract sample files again
NSData *containerFile = [NSData dataWithContentsOfFile:#"/Users/Anne/Desktop/container.data"];
NSData *containerFileOne =[containerFile subdataWithRange:NSMakeRange(0, fileOneLength)];
NSData *containerFileTwo =[containerFile subdataWithRange:NSMakeRange(fileOneLength, fileTwoLength)];
// Write extracted files to disk (will be exactly the same)
[containerFileOne writeToFile:#"/Users/Anne/Desktop/1_extracted.png" atomically:YES];
[containerFileTwo writeToFile:#"/Users/Anne/Desktop/2_extracted.png" atomically:YES];
// Only extract one file from the container
NSString * containerPath = #"/Users/Anne/Desktop/container.data";
NSData * oneFileOnly = [[NSFileHandle fileHandleForReadingAtPath:containerPath] readDataOfLength:fileOneLength];
// Write result to disk
[oneFileOnly writeToFile:#"/Users/Anne/Desktop/1_one_file.png" atomically:YES];
Tip:
You can also save the 'index' inside the container file.
For example: The first 500 bytes contain the required information.
When you need a specific file: Read the index, get the file position and extract it.
You are archiving a NSMutable array of NSImage. This two classes conform to the NSCoding protocol required by NSKeyedArchiver, so I don't see where would be your problem.
So, here are many ideas to test.
First, are you sure that the data you think you have are valid? In your first code snippet, you write [NSData dataWithContentsOfFile:#"0.png"]. This method expects an absolute file path.
Assuming the problem is not in your code, just in your question, let's continue:
Do you have something different than nil in the variable data after your archiving? Ie, after the assignement to data, can you add this code. If the assertion fail, you will get an exception at runtime:
NSData *data = [NSKeyedArchiver archivedDataWithRootObject:array];
NSAssert(nil != data, #"My object data is nil after archiving");
If the problem was not here, what is the return of the line [data writeToFile:path options:NSDataWritingAtomic error:&error];
(Not the variable error, but the return value of the call to the method - writeToFile: options: error:)
What happens if you simplify your code and just do this:
result = [NSKeyedArchiver archiveRootObject:data
toFile:archivePath];
If everything was ok, have you tried to unarchive your file with NSKeyedUnarchiver?
The problem is that [NSData dataWithContentsOfFile:#"0.png"] looks for the file "0.png" in the current directory, but what the application thinks of as the current directory is probably not the place you're expecting. For graphical apps, you should always either use an absolute path or a path relative to some place that you can get the absolute path of (e.g. your app bundle, the application support directory, some user-selected location).
For command-line tools, using the current directory is more common. But I doubt that's the case here.
Another thing I noticed on Mavericks and up is that the folders in the path must be in existence. Meaning you must create the folder structure prior to saving into that folder. If you try to write to a folder on the desktop or elsewhere, even with sandboxing off, it will fail if the folder does not exist. I know this has been answered already, but I found that my issue continued regardless, but once I make sure that the folder structure was in place, I could do my writing to that folder.
On a side note: I'm sure that you could do this from NSFileManager, and I'll be doing that myself once I finalize my app structure, but hope this helps someone else lost in the sauce.