I am trying to load some data from my plist into an array. While declaring an array i did something like this
var natureList : [Dictionary] = [] as! [Dictionary]
I am getting this error
Here is my plist file
So how do i declare an array to load this data from my plist. ? I know its simple but this small thing is eating my head. Any help appreciated.
It should be declared as follows:
var natureList = [[String: Any]]()
or as @LeoDabus advised (thanks to him):
var natureList: [[String: Any]] = []
Means that natureList is an array of dictionaries of strings as keys and any as values.
If you are aiming to declare it using Dictionary -which is uanessacry-, you could also do it like this:
var natureList = [Dictionary<String, Any>]()
Ahmad F has the right answer, but just in case you (or a future reader) need to be more specific at some point here is how to break it down to a super specific type…
The inner most items in the plist (Summary: 1st flower, etc.) are all [String: String] because the key is a string and so is the associated value.
All of those inner most dictionaries are held in arrays so we add an extra set of brackets around our previous type: [[String : String]].
Moving up a level all of those arrays are in a dictionary which means we add the key type, colon, and brackets: [String: [[String : String]]]
The dictionaries from the previous step are all held in an array which means we add another set of brackets to the outside leaving us with: [[String: [[String : String]]]].
Again this level of detail is likely overkill but it is useful for demonstrating one way of breaking down a complex data structure by starting at the innermost level and working your way out. There are other ways of breaking down a structure like this but this one is highly effective.
