#!/usr/bin/env ruby

# Descending into a complex (json) object

require 'json'
require 'open-uri'

source = URI.parse("http://www.wellho.net/services/_.json")
fh = source.open
stuff = fh.read

# Convert the string into something more useable (a Hash or an Array)
things = JSON.parse(stuff)

# and clever stuff to print it out

# Two alternative classes to return our data insets / keys
# (selected by the user from the command line in sample code below)

class InsetStack
        def initialize(name = "")
                @inset = ""
        end
        def push(adder = " ")
                @inset += " "
                return self
        end
        def pop()
                @inset = @inset[0..-3]
        end
        def show(k)
                return @inset + k.to_s
        end
end

class TreeStack
        def initialize(name = "")
                @inset = Array.new
                @name = name
        end
        def push(adder = "xx")
                @inset.push(adder)
                return self
        end
        def pop()
                @inset.pop
        end
        def show(k)
                rv = @name
                (@inset+[k]).each do |el|
                        if el.is_a?(String)
                                rv += "['#{el}']"
                        else
                                rv += "[#{el}]"
                        end
                end
                return rv
        end
end

# This is a pair of recursive methods which will descend into the object.
# They're really a reimplementation of "pp" but you can do far more that print if you want ;-)

def displayHash(what,offset=InsetStack.new)
        what.each do |k,v|
                current = what[k]
                if current.is_a?(Hash)
                        puts "#{offset.show k} :"
                        displayHash(current,offset.push(k))
                elsif current.is_a?(Array)
                        puts "#{offset.show k} :"
                        displayArray(current,offset.push(k))
                else
                        puts "#{offset.show k} = '#{v}'"
                end
        end
        offset.pop
end

def displayArray(what,offset=InsetStack.new)
        k = 0
        what.each do |v|
                current = what[k]
                if current.is_a?(Hash)
                        puts "#{offset.show k} :"
                        displayHash(current,offset.push(k))
                elsif current.is_a?(Array)
                        puts "#{offset.show k} :"
                        displayArray(current,offset.push(k))
                else
                        puts "#{offset.show} k} = '#{v}'"
                end
                k += 1
        end
        offset.pop
end

# Main code again - decide how we want to output, using command line option

if ARGV[0] == "-c"
        using = InsetStack.new
else
        using = TreeStack.new(ARGV[0] || "xv")
end

if things.is_a?(Hash) then
        displayHash(things,using)
else
        displayArray(things,using)
end

__END__

Sample outputs

WomanWithCat:kingston grahamellis$ ./tj3.rb | head
xv['timedat'] = '1433225042'
xv['lookfor'] = ''
xv['acc'] :
xv['acc'][0] :
xv['acc'][0]['when'] = '0'
xv['acc'][0]['where'] = '86.148.79.xx'
xv['acc'][0]['which'] = '/pix/my1_36.jpg'
xv['acc'][1] :
xv['acc'][1]['when'] = '1'
xv['acc'][1]['where'] = '66.249.64.xx'
WomanWithCat:kingston grahamellis$ ./tj3.rb bob | head
bob['timedat'] = '1433225056'
bob['lookfor'] = ''
bob['acc'] :
bob['acc'][0] :
bob['acc'][0]['when'] = '1'
bob['acc'][0]['where'] = '66.249.64.xx'
bob['acc'][0]['which'] = '/forum/The-Tcl-programming-language/Extracting-bit-fields-from-binary.html'
bob['acc'][1] :
bob['acc'][1]['when'] = '3'
bob['acc'][1]['where'] = '86.148.79.xx'
WomanWithCat:kingston grahamellis$ ./tj3.rb -c | head
timedat = '1433225074'
lookfor = ''
acc :
  0 :
    when = '0'
    where = '66.249.64.xx'
    which = '/mouth/2239_Cornerstone-Cafe-Melksham.html'
  1 :
    when = '3'
    where = '157.55.39.xx'
WomanWithCat:kingston grahamellis$