title: How can JSON data with null value be converted to a dictionary
body: <pre><code>{
    "abc": null,
    "def": 9
  }
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>I have JSON data which looks like this. If not for null (without quotes as a string), I could have used <code>ast</code> module's <code>literal_eval</code> to convert the above to a dictionary. </p>
  
  <p>A dictionary in Python cannot have <code>null</code> as value but can have <code>"null"</code> as a value. How do I convert the above to a dictionary that Python recognizes?</p>