title: Python - split entries into an array
body: <p>I have a JSON response that has a 2 sections I want to run numerical comparisons on. I can get at the values but I am struggling to remove the [] and split the entries with ,. My string looks like this:</p>
  
  <pre><code>r = """{
      "eth_btc":{
          "asks":[
              [103.426,0.01],
              [103.5,15],
              [103.504,0.425],
              [103.505,0.1]
          ],
          "bids":[
              [103.2,2.48502251],
              [103.082,0.46540304],
              [102.91,0.99007913],
              [102.83,0.07832332]
          ]
      }
  }"""
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>The values are "cost, volume". I need both values, and I want to do numerical comparisons between ASKS and BIDS. </p>
  
  <p>I need to get rid of the [] which is easy, and I would also like to separate the values with SPLIT, but I am having trouble putting them into a LIST. Since the data is already in a dictionary, perhaps I don't need to do all of this but I am unsure how to proceed.</p>
  
  <pre><code>j = json.loads(r)
  mylist = list()
  for item in j['eth_btc']['asks']:
      tempString = str(item).strip('[]')
      mylist.append(tempString.split(','))
  
  print (mylist)
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>The values then need to be turned from strings into numbers. </p>
  
  <p>I appreciate any help getting going on this.</p>