Path: csiph.com!fu-berlin.de!uni-berlin.de!not-for-mail
From: Random832 <random832@fastmail.com>
Newsgroups: comp.lang.python
Subject: Re: Newbie: Check first two non-whitespace characters
Date: Thu, 31 Dec 2015 20:31:16 -0500
Lines: 14
Message-ID: <mailman.132.1451611887.11925.python-list@python.org>
References: <240ab049-68a0-4a00-b911-d58cae9bfbcf@googlegroups.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain
X-Trace: news.uni-berlin.de dSkhitdPSFTTwKU8UqtMnQkGCEZUWvD9KYdZD8RKJoGg==
Cancel-Lock: sha1:q4BqL5qHJFT5qOjb7MnitcQ1tW8=
Return-Path: <python-python-list@m.gmane.org>
X-Original-To: python-list@python.org
Delivered-To: python-list@mail.python.org
X-Spam-Status: OK 0.001
X-Spam-Evidence: '*H*': 1.00; '*S*': 0.00; 'ideally': 0.04; 'json': 0.05; 'subject:two': 0.07; 'parsed': 0.09; 'received:80.91': 0.09; 'received:80.91.229': 0.09; 'received:gmane.org': 0.09; 'received:list': 0.09; 'subject:characters': 0.09; 'received:80.91.229.3': 0.16; 'received:io': 0.16; 'received:plane.gmane.org': 0.16; 'received:psf.io': 0.16; 'subject:non': 0.16; 'later': 0.16; 'string': 0.17; 'element': 0.18; 'received:166': 0.18; 'string,': 0.18; 'header:User- Agent:1': 0.26; '(which': 0.26; 'header:X-Complaints-To:1': 0.26; 'be:': 0.29; 'consisting': 0.29; 'list': 0.34; 'could': 0.35; 'something': 0.35; 'but': 0.36; 'should': 0.36; 'to:addr:python- list': 0.36; 'subject:: ': 0.37; 'received:org': 0.37; 'subject:-': 0.39; 'to:addr:python.org': 0.40; 'space': 0.40; 'email addr:gmail.com': 0.62; 'validate': 0.76; 'subject:Check': 0.95
X-Injected-Via-Gmane: http://gmane.org/
X-Gmane-NNTP-Posting-Host: 166.175.190.4
User-Agent: Gnus/5.13 (Gnus v5.13) Emacs/24.5 (darwin)
X-BeenThere: python-list@python.org
X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.20+
Precedence: list
List-Id: General discussion list for the Python programming language <python-list.python.org>
List-Unsubscribe: <https://mail.python.org/mailman/options/python-list>, <mailto:python-list-request@python.org?subject=unsubscribe>
List-Archive: <http://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-list/>
List-Post: <mailto:python-list@python.org>
List-Help: <mailto:python-list-request@python.org?subject=help>
List-Subscribe: <https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list>, <mailto:python-list-request@python.org?subject=subscribe>
Xref: csiph.com comp.lang.python:101095

otaksoftspamtrap@gmail.com writes:
> I need to check a string over which I have no control for the first 2
> non-white space characters (which should be '[{').
>
> The string would ideally be: '[{...' but could also be something like 
> '  [  {  ....'.
>
> Best to use re and how? Something else?

Is it an arbitrary string, or is it a JSON object consisting of a list
whose first element is a dictionary? Because if you're planning on
reading it as a JSON object later you could just validate the types
after you've parsed it.