How to Parse a JSON List with Duplicate Key Values in Python

Discover how to convert a list of dictionaries with duplicate key values into a valid JSON object using Python efficiently.
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How to Parse a JSON List with Duplicate Key Values in Python

When dealing with JSON data in Python, you may encounter a situation where you have a list of dictionaries with the same keys. This can create challenges when trying to parse or manipulate this data. A common scenario is working with sports matchups where you have multiple entries for teams represented in dictionaries with similar key names.

In this post, we will explore how to convert a list of dictionaries into a format that avoids key duplication and allows for easier data manipulation.

The Problem Explained

Imagine you have a list variable like below:

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

In this structure, you have multiple dictionaries containing the same keys ("Away_Team" and "Home_Team"). If you attempt to print a single dictionary with JSON formatting, you will only get the first matchup displayed, which is not useful if you want to see all of them together:

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

Expected Output

You want a consolidated JSON object that combines all matchups and resolves the key duplication issue. Here’s what a desired output might look like:

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

The Solution

To achieve this transformation, we can utilize a combination of Python's enumerate function and dictionary comprehension. This method ensures that keys are suffixed with an index number, effectively creating unique keys for each entry without altering the fundamental data structure.

Step-by-Step Breakdown

Use List Comprehension: We will iterate through the list of dictionaries.

Employ enumerate: This function will help us keep a count of the dictionaries we’ve processed, starting from 1.

Create Unique Keys: For each key-value pair in the dictionary, we will append the index to the key.

Here's the code snippet that implements this solution:

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

Key Components of the Code

enumerate(list_of_dicts, start=1): This returns a counter alongside each dictionary, starting from 1.

f"{k}_{i}": This formats keys by appending the index i to the original key, creating a unique name.

Final Output

To see the final output in JSON format, you will print list_of_dicts2:

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

This will give you the consolidated and uniquely keyed JSON object structure as desired.

Conclusion

By following the outlined steps, you can efficiently transform a list of dictionaries with duplicate keys into a well-structured JSON format. This approach not only keeps your data organized, but it also simplifies processing for future tasks or analyses.

By emphasizing the importance of dynamic processing, this method ensures it accommodates varying sizes of input lists while producing consistent and usable outputs. With a little bit of Python magic, you can easily handle complex data structures like this!

Feel free to reach out with more questions or comments about JSON parsing or any other Python challenges you encounter. Happy coding!