Implementing Unspecified Parsing Logic | Dataford Interview Questions

Solve a coding problem where you must implement functions to parse inputs, even when the expected behavior is not fully specified, and explain your approach.

Implement parse_inputs(text) to return a list of records parsed from newline-separated input. Ignore blank lines and lines beginning with #; split fields on commas outside double-quoted values; use the first unquoted = as the key-value separator; trim surrounding whitespace; let later duplicate keys overwrite earlier values; and skip any line containing a malformed field or unterminated quote. Decode escaped double quotes and backslashes inside quoted values.

The input is a string, and the output is a list of maps from strings to strings.

Constraints

0 <= text.length <= 10^5
Each record occupies one line
Keys and values are strings
A malformed field invalidates its entire line
Duplicate keys use the last value on the line

Function Signature

def parse_inputs(text):

Your question is Implementing Unspecified Parsing Logic. Start with the requirements in the Question tab.

Run and submit as often as you like. When you're ready, talk me through your approach or go straight to the code.

Problem

Solve a coding problem where you must implement functions to parse inputs, even when the expected behavior is not fully specified, and explain your approach.

The input is a string, and the output is a list of maps from strings to strings.

Constraints

0 <= text.length <= 10^5
Each record occupies one line
Keys and values are strings
A malformed field invalidates its entire line
Duplicate keys use the last value on the line

Function Signature

def parse_inputs(text):

Your question is Implementing Unspecified Parsing Logic. Start with the requirements in the Question tab.

Run and submit as often as you like. When you're ready, talk me through your approach or go straight to the code.