Path: csiph.com!usenet.pasdenom.info!aioe.org!news.stack.nl!newsfeed.xs4all.nl!newsfeed1.news.xs4all.nl!xs4all!newsgate.cistron.nl!newsgate.news.xs4all.nl!post.news.xs4all.nl!not-for-mail Return-Path: X-Original-To: python-list@python.org Delivered-To: python-list@mail.python.org X-Spam-Status: OK 0.022 X-Spam-Evidence: '*H*': 0.96; '*S*': 0.00; 'problem:': 0.07; 'tries': 0.07; 'string': 0.09; 'parsing': 0.09; 'received:80.91': 0.09; 'received:80.91.229': 0.09; 'received:gmane.org': 0.09; 'received:list': 0.09; 'bullet': 0.16; 'descending': 0.16; 'finney': 0.16; 'general.': 0.16; 'quoted': 0.16; 'received:80.91.229.3': 0.16; 'received:plane.gmane.org': 0.16; 'well-known': 0.16; 'worst': 0.16; 'library': 0.18; 'obviously': 0.18; 'solution.': 0.20; 'appears': 0.22; 'input': 0.22; 'header :User-Agent:1': 0.23; 'own.': 0.24; 'text.': 0.24; 'header:X -Complaints-To:1': 0.27; 'wondering': 0.29; 'tim': 0.29; 'specified': 0.30; "i'm": 0.30; 'convince': 0.31; 'writes:': 0.31; 'yourself.': 0.31; 'this.': 0.32; 'problem': 0.35; 'skip:u 20': 0.35; 'one,': 0.35; 'but': 0.35; 'there': 0.35; 'possible': 0.36; 'changing': 0.37; 'requirements': 0.37; 'ben': 0.38; 'to:addr :python-list': 0.38; 'to:addr:python.org': 0.39; 'either': 0.39; 'skip:p 20': 0.39; 'received:org': 0.40; 'simple,': 0.60; 'solve': 0.60; 'simple': 0.61; 'such': 0.63; 'him,': 0.64; 'determine': 0.67; '*this': 0.68; 'power': 0.76; 'bite': 0.84; 'fails,': 0.84; 'mature': 0.84; 'pain': 0.84; 'received:125': 0.84; 'cast': 0.91; 'killed': 0.91; 'acknowledge': 0.93 X-Injected-Via-Gmane: http://gmane.org/ To: python-list@python.org From: Ben Finney Subject: Re: Quotation Ugliness Date: Wed, 26 Nov 2014 12:54:45 +1100 References: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-Gmane-NNTP-Posting-Host: jigong.madmonks.org X-Public-Key-ID: 0xAC128405 X-Public-Key-Fingerprint: 517C F14B B2F3 98B0 CB35 4855 B8B2 4C06 AC12 8405 X-Public-Key-URL: http://www.benfinney.id.au/contact/bfinney-pubkey.asc X-Post-From: Ben Finney User-Agent: Gnus/5.13 (Gnus v5.13) Emacs/24.4 (gnu/linux) Cancel-Lock: sha1:wB+KHggnt6QnIZacXGDpSYInQ5A= X-BeenThere: python-list@python.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.15 Precedence: list List-Id: General discussion list for the Python programming language List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Newsgroups: comp.lang.python Message-ID: Lines: 38 NNTP-Posting-Host: 2001:888:2000:d::a6 X-Trace: 1416966896 news.xs4all.nl 2934 [2001:888:2000:d::a6]:41293 X-Complaints-To: abuse@xs4all.nl Xref: csiph.com comp.lang.python:81540 Tim Daneliuk writes: > Here's the problem: Determine is the string S appears *outside* or > *inside* any such quotation. This is a problem for parsing text. There is no general, simple solution. If someone tries to convince you they have one, be highly suspicious: it will either be not general, or not simple, or neither simple nor general. > I know lots of ugly/complicated/heavyweight ways to solve this, but > I'm wondering if any of you geniuses have a pythonic/elegant/short > algo that solves this. I would recommend one of the following, in descending order of preference: * Try very hard to change the requirements so that the input must be in a mature well-known format for which there are *existing*, maintained, reliable parsers. Use those instead of rolling your own. * If that fails, then: Try very hard to drastically simplify the specified input format so that every possible input is either obviously invalid, or obviously has exactly one meaning. * If that fails, then: Bite the bullet and acknowledge you will be entering the complexities of parsing text. Use a mature library for writing your parser; don't attempt to write a parsing library yourself. *This is the worst option*; changing the requirements for input will be much less pain than this. -- \ “Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into | `\ hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.” –Jesus, as quoted in Luke | _o__) 12:5 | Ben Finney