Swift Academy · Lesson

Decoding Heterogeneous JSON

Handle polymorphic and dynamic JSON shapes.

Lesson 4 of 413 steps

Decoding Heterogeneous JSON is a free Swift Academy lesson on CoddyKit. This is lesson 4 of 4. Any 3 lessons of this learning path are free to read in full — after that, CoddyKit PRO unlocks every lesson, plus hands-on practice with a built-in code editor and a 24/7 AI tutor. It is part of the Swift Academy learning path, and your progress syncs across the web and the CoddyKit app. The Swift Academy course includes 4 lessons in total.

What Is Heterogeneous JSON?

Some APIs return arrays where objects have different shapes, distinguished by a type field. Decoding these into one Swift type requires inspecting that discriminator first.

import Foundation

let json = "[{\"type\":\"text\",\"value\":\"hi\"},{\"type\":\"number\",\"value\":42}]"
print("Each element carries a type discriminator")

Modeling with an Enum

A natural Swift model is an enum with associated values — one case per JSON shape. The decoder will pick the case based on the discriminator.

import Foundation

enum Block {
    case text(String)
    case number(Int)
}

print("Enum models the variants")

Defining the Discriminator Key

Add a CodingKeys enum that includes the discriminator field (here type) plus the payload keys you need to read.

import Foundation

enum CodingKeys: String, CodingKey {
    case type
    case value
}

print(CodingKeys.type.stringValue, CodingKeys.value.stringValue)

Reading the Discriminator

In init(from:), first decode the type string, then switch on it to decode the matching payload.

import Foundation

enum Block: Decodable {
    case text(String)
    case number(Int)
    enum CodingKeys: String, CodingKey { case type, value }
    init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
        let c = try decoder.container(keyedBy: CodingKeys.self)
        let type = try c.decode(String.self, forKey: .type)
        switch type {
        case "text": self = .text(try c.decode(String.self, forKey: .value))
        case "number": self = .number(try c.decode(Int.self, forKey: .value))
        default: throw DecodingError.dataCorruptedError(forKey: .type, in: c, debugDescription: "unknown type")
        }
    }
}

let b = try JSONDecoder().decode(Block.self, from: "{\"type\":\"text\",\"value\":\"hi\"}".data(using: .utf8)!)
if case let .text(s) = b { print(s) }

Decoding a Mixed Array

Once the enum is Decodable, decoding [Block].self handles a whole array of mixed shapes in one call.

import Foundation

enum Block: Decodable {
    case text(String)
    case number(Int)
    enum CodingKeys: String, CodingKey { case type, value }
    init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
        let c = try decoder.container(keyedBy: CodingKeys.self)
        switch try c.decode(String.self, forKey: .type) {
        case "text": self = .text(try c.decode(String.self, forKey: .value))
        case "number": self = .number(try c.decode(Int.self, forKey: .value))
        default: throw DecodingError.dataCorruptedError(forKey: .type, in: c, debugDescription: "unknown")
        }
    }
}

let json = "[{\"type\":\"text\",\"value\":\"hi\"},{\"type\":\"number\",\"value\":42}]"
let blocks = try JSONDecoder().decode([Block].self, from: json.data(using: .utf8)!)
print(blocks.count)

Pattern-Matching the Result

After decoding, switch over the enum to act on each variant in a type-safe way.

import Foundation

enum Block: Decodable {
    case text(String)
    case number(Int)
    enum CodingKeys: String, CodingKey { case type, value }
    init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
        let c = try decoder.container(keyedBy: CodingKeys.self)
        switch try c.decode(String.self, forKey: .type) {
        case "text": self = .text(try c.decode(String.self, forKey: .value))
        case "number": self = .number(try c.decode(Int.self, forKey: .value))
        default: throw DecodingError.dataCorruptedError(forKey: .type, in: c, debugDescription: "unknown")
        }
    }
}

let json = "[{\"type\":\"text\",\"value\":\"hi\"},{\"type\":\"number\",\"value\":42}]"
for b in try JSONDecoder().decode([Block].self, from: json.data(using: .utf8)!) {
    switch b {
    case .text(let s): print("text:", s)
    case .number(let n): print("number:", n)
    }
}

Nested Payloads

When variants carry richer data, decode a nested Codable struct for each case instead of a single value.

import Foundation

struct ImagePayload: Decodable { var url: String; var width: Int }
enum Block: Decodable {
    case image(ImagePayload)
    enum CodingKeys: String, CodingKey { case type }
    init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
        let c = try decoder.container(keyedBy: CodingKeys.self)
        switch try c.decode(String.self, forKey: .type) {
        case "image": self = .image(try ImagePayload(from: decoder))
        default: throw DecodingError.dataCorruptedError(forKey: .type, in: c, debugDescription: "unknown")
        }
    }
}

let json = "{\"type\":\"image\",\"url\":\"a.png\",\"width\":100}"
if case let .image(p) = try JSONDecoder().decode(Block.self, from: json.data(using: .utf8)!) {
    print(p.url, p.width)
}

Handling Unknown Types Gracefully

Rather than throwing on unknown discriminators, you can map them to a fallback case so new server types never crash the client.

import Foundation

enum Block: Decodable {
    case text(String)
    case unknown
    enum CodingKeys: String, CodingKey { case type, value }
    init(from decoder: Decoder) throws {
        let c = try decoder.container(keyedBy: CodingKeys.self)
        switch try c.decode(String.self, forKey: .type) {
        case "text": self = .text(try c.decode(String.self, forKey: .value))
        default: self = .unknown
        }
    }
}

let b = try JSONDecoder().decode(Block.self, from: "{\"type\":\"video\"}".data(using: .utf8)!)
if case .unknown = b { print("fell back to unknown") }

Choosing a Good Discriminator

The discriminator should be a stable, required field. A String enum of known type names keeps the switch exhaustive and readable.

import Foundation

enum Kind: String, Decodable { case text, number }

let data = "\"text\"".data(using: .utf8)!
let k = try JSONDecoder().decode(Kind.self, from: data)
print(k == .text)

Encoding Polymorphic Values

To round-trip, implement encode(to:) too: write the discriminator plus the variant's payload back out.

import Foundation

enum Block: Encodable {
    case text(String)
    case number(Int)
    enum CodingKeys: String, CodingKey { case type, value }
    func encode(to encoder: Encoder) throws {
        var c = encoder.container(keyedBy: CodingKeys.self)
        switch self {
        case .text(let s):
            try c.encode("text", forKey: .type)
            try c.encode(s, forKey: .value)
        case .number(let n):
            try c.encode("number", forKey: .type)
            try c.encode(n, forKey: .value)
        }
    }
}

let data = try JSONEncoder().encode(Block.number(42))
print(String(data: data, encoding: .utf8)!)

Putting It Together

A full polymorphic model decodes a mixed array, switches on each variant, and can encode back to the same shape — a robust pattern for flexible APIs.

import Foundation

enum Block: Codable {
    case text(String)
    case number(Int)
    enum CodingKeys: String, CodingKey { case type, value }
    init(from d: Decoder) throws {
        let c = try d.container(keyedBy: CodingKeys.self)
        switch try c.decode(String.self, forKey: .type) {
        case "text": self = .text(try c.decode(String.self, forKey: .value))
        default: self = .number(try c.decode(Int.self, forKey: .value))
        }
    }
    func encode(to e: Encoder) throws {
        var c = e.container(keyedBy: CodingKeys.self)
        switch self {
        case .text(let s): try c.encode("text", forKey: .type); try c.encode(s, forKey: .value)
        case .number(let n): try c.encode("number", forKey: .type); try c.encode(n, forKey: .value)
        }
    }
}

let blocks: [Block] = [.text("hi"), .number(7)]
let data = try JSONEncoder().encode(blocks)
print(try JSONDecoder().decode([Block].self, from: data).count)

Quick Check: Heterogeneous JSON

Test your understanding of polymorphic decoding.

Answer it in the interactive lesson

Recap: Decoding Heterogeneous JSON

You learned to handle polymorphic payloads:

Model variants as an enum with associated values.
In init(from:), decode the discriminator field, then switch to build the right case.
Decode mixed arrays with [Enum].self and pattern-match results.
Add a fallback case for unknown types, and implement encode(to:) to round-trip.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is the “Decoding Heterogeneous JSON” lesson free?

Yes — any 3 lessons of the Swift Academy learning path, including “Decoding Heterogeneous JSON”, are free to read in full here on the web. After that, CoddyKit PRO unlocks every lesson, plus interactive practice with a built-in code editor and a 24/7 AI tutor. The Swift Academy course includes 4 lessons in total.

What will I learn in “Decoding Heterogeneous JSON”?

Handle polymorphic and dynamic JSON shapes. You practise Swift Academy with hands-on code you run directly in the browser, and a 24/7 AI tutor answers your questions as you work through the lesson.

Do I need any experience to start Swift Academy?

No prior experience is required. Swift Academy on CoddyKit is structured for beginners through advanced learners, so you can start here or from the beginning and move at your own pace. This is lesson 4 of 4.

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