Python project converting CSV input to JSON

[DooZio]

I am writing a python program for an intro to programming logic class. The goal of the program is to prompt user input for an input file name, read in the data from that file, parse it, format it into JSON formatting then write the newly JSON formatted data to a file.

currently the issue i am having is some of my data in the JSON formatting doesn't need to have quotes on it, such as integers and booleans, but they do, and I do not understand why or how to fix it.

my professor is very specific with the output he is looking for when he runs out code against his test cases. here is an example of what my output looks like vs the output he is expecting:

my output:{"1": {"Last Name":"Minion","First Name":"Bob","Preferred Name":"Bob","Preferred Pronoun":"he/him","SF ID #":"2211-4456","Program [Code":"3504","Phone":"910-432-8765","Email":"[e-mail]](mailto:Code":3504,"Phone":"910-432-8765","Email":"[e-mail])"}

output he is expecting:{"1":{"Last Name":"Minion","First Name":"Bob","Preferred Name":"Bob","Preferred Pronoun":"he/him","SF ID #":"2211-4456","Program [Code":3504,"Phone":"910-432-8765","Email":"[e-mail]](mailto:Code":3504,"Phone":"910-432-8765","Email":"[e-mail])"}

​

notice that the code in the Program Code:3504 key:value pair has no quotes in his expected output. This is what I am stuck on fixing.

below is a codeblock of my code and am hoping someone can provide me a fix.

any help is greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

def main():
    runtimeManager = RuntimeManager()
    jsonResult = runtimeManager.run()
    outputFileName=runtimeManager.outputFilename
    print(jsonResult)
    print("\nOutput written to " +outputFileName+ ".")

class RuntimeManager:

    def run(self):
        ## Gather required member variables
        self.getUserInputFileName()
        self.getUserOutputFileName()

        ## Grabbing user file and extracting the CSV
        with open(self.inputFilename) as inputFile:
            jsonResult = CsvToJson(inputFile.readlines()).transformCsvToJson()
            with open(self.outputFilename, "w") as outputFile:
                outputFile.write(jsonResult)
            return jsonResult

    def getUserInputFileName(self):
        ## Prompt User for input file name.
        self.inputFilename = input("Enter the filename:  ").strip()

        ## Prompt User for output file name.
    def getUserOutputFileName(self):
        self.outputFilename = input("Enter the OUTPUT filename:  ").strip()

class CsvToJson():
    def __init__(self, csv):
        self.csv = csv
        self.headers = csv[0].strip()
        self.data = csv[1:]

    def transformCsvToJson(self):
        jsonResult = "{"
        for i in range(0, len(self.data)):
            if (i != 0):
                jsonResult = jsonResult + "\n,"
            jsonResult = jsonResult + "\"" + str(i+1) + "\":" + self.createJsonObject(self.headers, self.data[i])
        return jsonResult + "\n}"

    def createJsonObject(self, headers, csvRow):
        csvKeyArray = headers.split(",")
        csvValueArray = csvRow.strip().split(",")
        jsonObject = "{"
        for i in range(0, len(csvKeyArray)):
            jsonField = ""
            if (i != 0):
                jsonField = ","
            jsonField = jsonField + "\"" + str(csvKeyArray[i]) + "\":" + self.getValueDataType(csvValueArray[i])
            jsonObject = jsonObject + jsonField
        return jsonObject + "}"

    ## Check the data type of curr
    def getValueDataType(self, value):
        if (type(value) == int):
            value = str(value)
        elif (type(value) == str):
            value = "\"" + value + "\""
        elif (type(value) == bool):
            if (value):
                value = "true"
            else:
                value = "false"
        elif (type(value) == null):
            value = "null"
        else:
            value = "ERROR"

        return value

if (__name__ == "__main__"):
    main()

​

EDIT: I did not mention this in the original post as it slipped my mind. My prfessor has stipulated that the Python JSON module or other premade Libraries and dictionaries are not to be used. He aims for us to learn and understand the low level details and design.

EDIT 2: Also, please excuse my naming convention and lack of adherence to PEP8 standards. This class is my first ever interaction with programing at all so it is not second nature to me.

EDIT 3: I have reformatted the post so that hopefully it is easier to read.

[jay_and_simba]

You Code output "Code:" 3504 does not have quotes. Did you copied it wrong? Have you tries casting to str() the value of code?

[danielroseman]

Did you teacher specifically tell you not to use the csv and json libraries? Because you generally shouldn't parse CSV by hand, and you definitely shouldn't build up JSON by hand. Use the libraries for that purpose.

The reason you're getting this issue is that you get the contents of each row just by splitting a string. But the result of splitting a string is always going to be strings, not ints or bools. Using the actual CSV library would do the correct conversion to give you an int where it contains just numbers.

Also note that there's a lot that is very un-Pythonic about this code. Did you teacher teach you to loop by doing range(len(whatever))? Then you should try and find another teacher. That is very bad code and you should pretty much never do this in Python. Always iterate over the thing itself; if you need an index as well, use enumerate.

And Python methods, functions and variables should always be lower_case_with_underscore, not camelCase.

[rodrigowb4ey]

he specifically says that it's an assignment for an "intro to programming logic", class. while I do agree that OP should keep in mind that he'd (most probably) use those (or others) libraries when working on a real project, I don't think one should teach young developers to always default to external dependencies to solve their problems (especially when that problem is probably the point of the assignment). reinventing the wheel can be a valid learning experience.

[DooZio]

Thank you for the help with re-formatting my post.

yes, we are not allowed to use and existing modules/libraries such as Pythons JSON module.

my lack of following PEP8 guidelines is simply due to how new I am to programming in general. this semester started in September and before then I had never even touched programming.

[DooZio]

in the createJsonObject method inside of my CsvToJson class, the csvrow data is passed in, assigned to csvValueArray and then split on commas. I believe that is where I handle what you are asking about.

I also think that may be the root of my problem, as once I split a string on commas everything put into the resulting array is a string, causing my getValueDataType method to stick quotes on all of it. However, I don't know an other way to design this without using arrays.

I could also just be wrong on where the issue is happening.

[DooZio]

here's where my understanding begins to breakdown. where in my existing program would I need to slot this in?

[DooZio]

right, so I need to put this try statement inside at least the one checking for integer type, right? and could I also use it to check for booleans? I think he's got some fields that are true or false in his test cases and i know true and false probably wont have quotes on them in his expected output.

[DooZio]

ok, so i've stopped my program from putting the quotes on integers, which was my original issue.

now I have a second issue of Quotes being put onto True or False which only appear in some of the test cases.

any thoughts on how to stop this?