How to find programmatically what is the root element of the plist

How to find out programmatically what's the root element of the p开发者_开发问答list, i.e whether it is Array or Dictionary?

Load the plist with +[NSPropertyListSerialization propertyListFromData:…], then check the -class of the resulting object.

Try the below:

NSData *plistData;  
NSString *error;  
NSPropertyListFormat format;  
id plist;  

NSString *localizedPath = [[NSBundle mainBundle] pathForResource:fileName ofType:@"plist"];  
plistData = [NSData dataWithContentsOfFile:localizedPath];   

plist = [NSPropertyListSerialization propertyListFromData:plistData mutabilityOption:NSPropertyListImmutable format:&format errorDescription:&error];
if([plist isKindOfClass:[NSDictionary class]]){
     //do some ...
}
if([plist isKindOfClass:[NSArray class]]){
     //do some ...
}

Additional reading from Apple.

Here’s the Core Foundation way:

if (CFGetTypeID((CFPropertyListRef)myPropertyList) == CFDictionaryGetTypeID()) {
    // its a dictionary
}

You should not use the class method for this. Use NSObject's isKindOfClass: (or isMemberOfClass:) to test if the object's class is [NSArray class] or [NSDictionary class].

see: +[NSObject class]