I don't want to specify the type of my json since they are so messy and so complicated, I just want them to load into memory and I perform the lookup when needed.
It is easy with dynamic language such as python, e.g.
data = json.loads(str)
if "foo" in data:
...
How to do the same in go?
You can unmarshal into an interface{} value to decode arbitrary JSON.
Taking the example from http://blog.golang.org/json-and-go
b := []byte(`{"Name":"Wednesday","Age":6,"Parents":["Gomez","Morticia"]}`)
var f interface{}
if err := json.Unmarshal(b, &f); err != nil {
... handle error
}
You need to use a type switch to access data decoded in this way. For example:
age := f.(map[string)interface{})["Age"].(int)
Here's an example which seems easier to understand for me, I hope it works for you too: https://gobyexample.com/json . Look for the word "arbitrary"
interface{}is indeed correct, but from experience, in complex json objects, it's a nightmare, and you are better off specifying the data structure in advance.