Robust Custom Format Parser | Dataford Interview Questions

Write a clean parser to handle a custom configuration or data format, ensuring graceful error handling for malformed inputs. Implement parse_config(text), where each nonempty, non-comment line has the form key=value; keys are identifiers, and values are integers or double-quoted strings. Return a dictionary of parsed values, or None for malformed input, including duplicate keys.

Constraints

1 <= len(text) <= 10^5
Each meaningful line contains at most one key-value assignment
Keys match [A-Za-z_][A-Za-z0-9_]*
Values are decimal integers or double-quoted strings
A line beginning with # after optional whitespace is a comment
Duplicate keys and malformed lines must return None

Function Signature

def parse_config(text):

Your question is Robust Custom Format Parser. 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

Constraints

1 <= len(text) <= 10^5
Each meaningful line contains at most one key-value assignment
Keys match [A-Za-z_][A-Za-z0-9_]*
Values are decimal integers or double-quoted strings
A line beginning with # after optional whitespace is a comment
Duplicate keys and malformed lines must return None

Function Signature

def parse_config(text):

Your question is Robust Custom Format Parser. 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.