title: Error parsing JSON data to an array using GSON
body: <p>Before you assume that this question is a duplicate based on its title, I must say that I couldn't find any solutions out there for <strong>my specific</strong> problem. However, I'd appreciate it if you could suggest some links! That said, my problem is that I keep getting the following GSON exception:</p>
  
  <pre><code>07-24 10:12:44.713 2540-2603/com.davenotdavid.dndheadlines W/System.err: com.google.gson.JsonSyntaxException: java.lang.IllegalStateException: Expected BEGIN_ARRAY but was BEGIN_OBJECT at line 1 column 2 path $
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>I understand that I'm somehow passing in a JSON object as opposed to an array, but what I don't understand is how it's not working based on the following Utility class that basically has helper methods to parse and extract JSON data from a JSON array using the OkHttpClient and GSON libraries, and then returns a list of extracted data back to the calling class:</p>
  
  <pre><code>import com.google.gson.Gson;
  import com.google.gson.reflect.TypeToken;
  
  import java.lang.reflect.Type;
  import java.util.ArrayList;
  import java.util.Collection;
  import java.util.List;
  
  import okhttp3.OkHttpClient;
  import okhttp3.Request;
  import okhttp3.Response;
  
  public class QueryUtils {
      public static List&lt;Article&gt; fetchArticleData(String requestUrl) {
          String jsonResponse = "";
          try {
              OkHttpClient okHttpClient = new OkHttpClient();
              Request request = new Request.Builder()
                      .url(requestUrl)
                      .build();
              Response response = okHttpClient.newCall(request).execute();
              jsonResponse = response.body().string();
          } catch (Exception e) {
              e.printStackTrace();
          }
  
          return extractDataFromJson(jsonResponse);
      }
  
      private static List&lt;Article&gt; extractDataFromJson(String jsonResponse) {
          if (jsonResponse == null || jsonResponse.isEmpty()) {
              return null;
          }
  
          List&lt;Article&gt; articlesList = new ArrayList&lt;&gt;();
  
          ArticleResponse[] articleResult = new ArticleResponse[0];
          try {
              Gson gson = new Gson();
              Type collectionType = new TypeToken&lt;Collection&lt;ArticleResponse&gt;&gt;(){}.getType();
  
              // *** Exception is thrown here ***
              Collection&lt;ArticleResponse&gt; enums = gson.fromJson(jsonResponse, collectionType);
  
              articleResult = enums.toArray(new ArticleResponse[enums.size()]);
          } catch (Exception e) {
              e.printStackTrace();
          }
  
          if (articleResult.length != 0) {
              for (int i = 0; i &lt; articleResult.length; i++) {
                  ArticleResponse article = articleResult[i];
                  articlesList.add(new Article(
                          article.getTitle(),
                          article.getUrl(),
                          article.getUrlToImage(),
                          article.getPublishedAt()));
              }
          }
  
          return articlesList;
      }
  }
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>As you'll notice that the exception is thrown in the following line of code:</p>
  
  <pre><code>Collection&lt;ArticleResponse&gt; enums = gson.fromJson(jsonResponse, collectionType);
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>Here's the ArticleResponse class I generated using GsonFormat:</p>
  
  <pre><code>public class ArticleResponse {
  
      /**
       * author : Annalee Newitz
       * title : First glimpse of Steven Spielberg’s new movie, Ready Player One
       * description : This trailer introduces us to a VR dystopia, and has the greatest soundtrack ever.
       * url : https://arstechnica.com/the-multiverse/2017/07/first-glimpse-of-steven-spielbergs-new-movie-ready-player-one/
       * urlToImage : https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/RPO-1000x437-nbv413pszkz7s29g3blop7i6ymcv84f9mtwmvt1xxk-760x380.png
       * publishedAt : 2017-07-23T17:13:56Z
       */
  
      private String title;
      private String url;
      private String urlToImage;
      private String publishedAt;
  
      public String getTitle() {
          return title;
      }
  
      public void setTitle(String title) {this.title = title;}
  
      public String getUrl() {
          return url;
      }
  
      public void setUrl(String url) {
          this.url = url;
      }
  
      public String getUrlToImage() {
          return urlToImage;
      }
  
      public void setUrlToImage(String urlToImage) {
          this.urlToImage = urlToImage;
      }
  
      public String getPublishedAt() {
          return publishedAt;
      }
  
      public void setPublishedAt(String publishedAt) {
          this.publishedAt = publishedAt;
      }
  }
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>A sample JSON response from a network call in the Utility class is as follows:</p>
  
  <pre><code>{
      "status": "ok",
      "source": "ars-technica",
      "sortBy": "top",
      "articles": [{
          "author": "Eric Berger",
          "title": "Elon Musk’s Mars rocket may be about to lose half of its engines",
          "description": "Downscaling the Mars booster suggests that Musk may be bending toward reality.",
          "url": "https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/07/elon-musk-drops-an-important-hint-about-his-revised-mars-rocket/",
          "urlToImage": "https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/29937260386_45ba70fb85_h-1440x614-760x380.jpg",
          "publishedAt": "2017-07-24T13:12:01Z"
      }, {
          "author": null,
          "title": "Hour of Devastation review: The evil elder dragon god-pharaoh has arrived. RIP.",
          "description": "Plus, a look at the major changes coming to future Magic: the Gathering sets.",
          "url": "https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2017/07/magic-hour-of-devastation-review/",
          "urlToImage": "https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/401538_CN-copy-760x380.jpg",
          "publishedAt": "2017-07-24T13:00:52Z"
      }, {
          "author": "Annalee Newitz",
          "title": "Season 2 of Stranger Things looks even creepier and more intense",
          "description": "The Upside Down is back, and it looks like it's about to eat the world.",
          "url": "https://arstechnica.com/the-multiverse/2017/07/season-2-of-stranger-things-looks-even-creepier-and-more-intense/",
          "urlToImage": "https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/landscape-1486986380-stranger-things-mike-wheeler-2-760x380.jpg",
          "publishedAt": "2017-07-23T23:20:39Z"
      }, {
          "author": "Annalee Newitz",
          "title": "First glimpse of Steven Spielberg’s new movie, Ready Player One",
          "description": "This trailer introduces us to a VR dystopia, and has the greatest soundtrack ever.",
          "url": "https://arstechnica.com/the-multiverse/2017/07/first-glimpse-of-steven-spielbergs-new-movie-ready-player-one/",
          "urlToImage": "https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/RPO-1000x437-nbv413pszkz7s29g3blop7i6ymcv84f9mtwmvt1xxk-760x380.png",
          "publishedAt": "2017-07-23T17:13:56Z"
      }, {
          "author": null,
          "title": "New book explores how protesters—and governments—use Internet tactics",
          "description": "The protest frontiers are changing. An entrenched researcher explains why they work.",
          "url": "https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/07/twitter-and-tear-gas-book-explores-new-world-of-digital-protest/",
          "urlToImage": "https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Screen-Shot-2017-07-22-at-1.17.15-PM-760x380.png",
          "publishedAt": "2017-07-23T15:00:02Z"
      }, {
          "author": "Nathan Mattise",
          "title": "Maybe The Americans is quietly a technophile love letter to the 1980s",
          "description": "Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg talk handheld football, spy tech, mail robot, and more.",
          "url": "https://arstechnica.com/the-multiverse/2017/07/maybe-the-americans-is-quietly-a-technophile-love-letter-to-the-1980s/",
          "urlToImage": "https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/AmericansFootball-600x380.jpg",
          "publishedAt": "2017-07-23T14:30:15Z"
      }, {
          "author": "Sam Machkovech",
          "title": "Dockless bike sharing lands in Seattle—and leads us down unsavory alleyways",
          "description": "Now in Seattle: two services, 1,000 bikes, and a shoulder shrug at helmet laws.",
          "url": "https://arstechnica.com/business/2017/07/dockless-bike-sharing-lands-in-seattle-and-leads-us-down-unsavory-alleyways/",
          "urlToImage": "https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/IMAG3645-760x380.jpg",
          "publishedAt": "2017-07-23T14:00:32Z"
      }, {
          "author": null,
          "title": "Level up: How video games evolved to solve significant scientific problems",
          "description": "Science, your chance to use all that time spent gaming for the greater good.",
          "url": "https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2017/07/level-up-how-video-games-evolved-to-solve-significant-scientific-problems/",
          "urlToImage": "https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/GettyImages-134429675-760x380.jpg",
          "publishedAt": "2017-07-23T13:25:25Z"
      }, {
          "author": "John Timmer",
          "title": "We’ve screwed up the coasts so badly that an invasive species is a plus",
          "description": "When native species are gone, an invasive one can provide ecosystem services.",
          "url": "https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/07/weve-screwed-up-the-coasts-so-badly-that-an-invasive-species-is-a-plus/",
          "urlToImage": "https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Gracilaria-vermiculophylla-760x380.jpg",
          "publishedAt": "2017-07-23T12:00:53Z"
      }, {
          "author": "Megan Geuss",
          "title": "German energy company wants to build flow batteries in old natural gas caverns",
          "description": "Research for a massive redox flow battery is underway.",
          "url": "https://arstechnica.com/business/2017/07/german-energy-company-wants-to-build-flow-batteries-in-old-natural-gas-caverns/",
          "urlToImage": "https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/20170612-b4p-english-760x380.jpg",
          "publishedAt": "2017-07-22T15:00:22Z"
      }]
  }
  </code></pre>