extension Collection where Element == Any {
var joined: [Any] { flatMap { ($0 as? [Any])?.joined ?? [$0] } }
func flatMapped<T>(_ type: T.Type? = nil) -> [T] { joined.compactMap { $0 as? T } }
}
let objects: [Any] = [1,[2,3],"a",["b",["c","d"]]]
let joined = objects.joined() // [1, 2, 3, "a", "b", "c", "d"]
let integers = objects.flatMapped(Int.self) // [1, 2, 3]
// setting the type explicitly
let integers2: [Int] = objects.flatMapped() // [1, 2, 3]
// or casting
let strings = objects.flatMapped() as [String] // ["a", "b", "c", "d"]