How to load a JSON file in python 2.7

Question

I am not able to load the following 'data.json' file in python 2.7.11,

file data.json

{
  "name":xyz,
  "age":12
}

The code i am using the load the above file,

import json
json_data = open ('data.json').read ()
json.loads(json_data)

I always get the following error

ValueError: No JSON object could be decoded

In the meantime,i also tried using yaml.load and it worked fine. But i wanted to know what is that i am doing wrong.

Try with json.load() and pass the file directly. My glass ball suggests: encoding issue. — dhke
– dhke, Commented Mar 3, 2016 at 8:45
Ah. I must have been blind. "name": xyz isn't valid JSON. xyz isn't a literal. Did you mean "name": "xyz"? — dhke
– dhke, Commented Mar 3, 2016 at 8:58

junoon53 · Accepted Answer · 2016-03-03 09:02:59Z

3

Your JSON is invalid.

Remember, if you're using alphabetical characters in a json Value, it's a string. So you have to write it within double quotes, like so:

{
  "name":"xyz",

  "age":12

}

Hopefully, this fix should solve your problem.

answered Mar 3, 2016 at 9:02

junoon53

412 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

1 Answer 1