How to Convert a Text File to JSON Format in Python

Learn how to easily transform text files into JSON format using Python. This guide provides step-by-step instructions and example code.
---

Visit these links for original content and any more details, such as alternate solutions, latest updates/developments on topic, comments, revision history etc. For example, the original title of the Question was: How to convert text file to JSON in python?

If anything seems off to you, please feel free to write me at vlogize [AT] gmail [DOT] com.
---
How to Convert a Text File to JSON Format in Python

Transforming data from one format to another can often seem like a daunting task, especially when dealing with different file types such as text and JSON. If you find yourself with a text file full of data that you need to convert into a structured JSON format, you are in the right place. In this post, we will go through the steps necessary to achieve this using Python.

The Problem

Imagine you have a text file containing network SSIDs and their respective qualities, formatted like this:

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

Your goal is to convert this data into a more usable JSON format. You want the JSON structure to have the SSID and quality without the "SSID" label, resulting in a format that looks like this:

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

The Solution

Step 1: Read the Text File

To start the conversion, we first need to open and read the content of the text file. We'll use Python's built-in file handling capabilities for this.

Step 2: Process Each Line

Next, we'll iterate over each line of the text file and split the string to extract the necessary information.

Step 3: Create a JSON Structure

We’ll create a dictionary that will serve as our JSON structure. The key will be a combination of SSID and quality without the initial "SSID," and the value will be the corresponding quality percentage.

Step 4: Write to JSON File

Finally, we will write the dictionary to a JSON file, ensuring it is properly formatted.

Here’s how the complete code looks:

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

Breakdown of the Code

Import JSON module: We start by importing the json module, which allows us to work with JSON data in Python.

File Handling: The with open(filename) context manager is used for safely opening and closing the file.

Data Processing:

Each line is split using ':' to separate the SSID from the quality.

The leading "SSID" label is ignored by using _ to indicate it is not required.

We then format the key for the dictionary by combining the SSID and quality properly.

Conclusion

By following these steps, you can efficiently convert text files containing SSID and quality information into structured JSON format, paving the way for easier storage and retrieval of data. Whether you have a few files or over 1000, this method will help you automate the process seamlessly.

Happy coding!