How do I parse a yaml string with python?

Question

I see an API and many examples on how to parse a yaml file but what about a string?

Solution 1

Here is the best way I have seen so far demonstrated with an example:

import yaml

dct = yaml.safe_load('''
name: John
age: 30
automobiles:
- brand: Honda
  type: Odyssey
  year: 2018
- brand: Toyota
  type: Sienna
  year: 2015
''')
assert dct['name'] == 'John'
assert dct['age'] == 30
assert len(dct["automobiles"]) == 2
assert dct["automobiles"][0]["brand"] == "Honda"
assert dct["automobiles"][1]["year"] == 2015

Solution 2

You don't need to wrap the string in StringIO, the safe_load method accepts strings:

In [1]: yaml.safe_load("{1: 2}")           
Out[1]: {1: 2}

Comments

[Nikhil Talreja]

When I use this method, the type of dct is still string

[Tomas Tomecek]

you should use yaml.safe_load for untrusted inputs

[Johannes]

if you need to install the library, be aware that it is pip install pyyaml but import yaml