Single List or list of lists json parsing failing

Question

I have a json that sometimes returns List[List[x, y], List[a, b]] or if there is only one then List[x, y] ?

My case class defines

case class Geometry(dataType: String, coordinates: List[List[BigDecimal]])

Exception in thread "main"

spray.json.DeserializationException:
  Expected List as JsArray, but got x when there is only one list List[x,y]

How can I define such a json response. Thanks.

Answer 1

Use Either to encapsulate both possibilities:

case class Geometry(
  dataType: String,
  coordinates: Either[List[BigDecimal], List[List[BigDecimal]]]
)