I need to extract data from a string which is returned from a website with POST request; I am parsing the data with SwiftSoup library. I have selected the list items using a CSS selector:
let iconsList: Element = try doc.select("ul.icons-list").first()!
which returns html like this:
<ul class="icons-list">
<li><strong>Label 1:</strong> Value 1 (Some text) </li>
<li><strong>Label 2:</strong> Value 2</li>
<li><strong>Label 3:</strong> Value 3</li>
<li><strong>Label 4:</strong> Value 4 </li>
<li><strong>Label 5:</strong> Value 5</li>
</ul>
Now I need to extract labels and values and store inside array or maybe separate variables. I have tried Regex like shown below (didn't work, maybe wrong regex):
let result = "This <strong>Needs to be removed</strong> is my string"
let regex = try! NSRegularExpression(pattern: "<strong>(.*)</strong>", options: .caseInsensitive)
var newStr = regex.stringByReplacingMatches(in: result, options: [], range: NSRange(0..<str.utf16.count), withTemplate: "")
print(newStr)
And also tried SwiftSoup selector like:
var labelFirst = try doc.select("ul.icons-list li:nth-child(1)")
But it also returns HTML result. So, I need to use regex in both cases. How can this be done?
Another Question: When I select icons-list class using SwiftSoup ".select" selector. If there's an exception then how do I handle that? Currently, I have this code but it's not working. And what if I want to handle multiple try blocks inside this block?
do{
let doc: Document = try SwiftSoup.parse(responseString!)
let iconsList: Element = try doc.select("ul.icons-list").first()!
print(iconsList)
}catch Exception.Error( _, let message){
print("icons list not found "+message)
}catch{
print("error")
}
I was able to figure out myself. Here's how I've done that:
var res = "<ul class=\"icons-list\"><li><strong>Label 1:</strong> Value 1 (Some text) </li></ul>"
extension String {
func capturedGroups(withRegex pattern: String) -> [String] {
var results = [String]()
var regex: NSRegularExpression
do {
regex = try NSRegularExpression(pattern: pattern, options: [])
} catch {
return results
}
let matches = regex.matches(in: self, options: [], range: NSRange(location:0, length: self.characters.count))
guard let match = matches.first else { return results }
let lastRangeIndex = match.numberOfRanges - 1
guard lastRangeIndex >= 1 else { return results }
for i in 1...lastRangeIndex {
let capturedGroupIndex = match.rangeAt(i)
let matchedString = (self as NSString).substring(with: capturedGroupIndex)
results.append(matchedString)
}
return results
}
}
let label1 = res.capturedGroups(withRegex: "<strong>(.*)</strong>")
let value1 = res.capturedGroups(withRegex: "</strong>(.*)</li>")
print("\(label1[0]): \(value1[0])")
//Output: Label 1: Value 1 (Some text)
I would still appreciate if someone gives me better way OR improve my function!