A Rust crate with a sscanf (inverse of format!()) Macro based on Regex
[](https://github.com/mich101mich/sscanf/actions/workflows/test.yml)
[](https://crates.io/crates/sscanf)
[](https://docs.rs/sscanf/)
[](https://deps.rs/repo/github/mich101mich/sscanf)
`sscanf` is originally a C-function that takes a string, a format string with placeholders and
several variables (in the Rust version replaced with types). It then parses the input string,
writing the values behind the placeholders into the variables (Rust: returns a tuple). `sscanf`
can be thought of as reversing a call to `format!()`:
```rust
// format: takes format string and values, returns String
let msg = format!("Hello {}{}!", "World", 5);
assert_eq!(msg, "Hello World5!");
// sscanf: takes string, format string and types, returns tuple
let parsed = sscanf::sscanf!(msg, "Hello {}{}!", str, usize);
// parsed is Result<(&str, usize), ...>
assert_eq!(parsed.unwrap(), ("World", 5));
// alternative syntax:
let parsed2 = sscanf::sscanf!(msg, "Hello {str}{usize}!");
assert_eq!(parsed2.unwrap(), ("World", 5));
```
`sscanf!()` takes a format string like `format!()`, but doesn't write the values into the
placeholders (`{}`), but extracts the values at those `{}` into the return tuple.
If matching the format string failed, an Error is returned:
```rust
let msg = "Text that doesn't match the format string";
let parsed = sscanf::sscanf!(msg, "Hello {str}{usize}!");
assert!(matches!(parsed, Err(sscanf::Error::MatchFailed)));
```
**Types in Placeholders:**
The types can either be given as a separate parameter after the format string, or directly
inside of the `{}` placeholder.
The first allows for autocomplete while typing, syntax highlighting and better compiler errors
generated by sscanf in case that the wrong types are given.
The second imitates the [Rust format!() behavior since 1.58](https://blog.rust-lang.org/2022/01/13/Rust-1.58.0.html#captured-identifiers-in-format-strings).
This option gives worse compiler errors when using stable Rust,
but is otherwise identical to the first option.
More examples of the capabilities of `sscanf`:
```rust
use sscanf::sscanf;
use std::num::NonZeroUsize;
let input = "<x=3, y=-6, z=6>";
let parsed = sscanf!(input, "<x={i32}, y={i32}, z={i32}>");
assert_eq!(parsed.unwrap(), (3, -6, 6));
let input = "Move to N36E21";
let parsed = sscanf!(input, "Move to {char}{usize}{char}{usize}");
assert_eq!(parsed.unwrap(), ('N', 36, 'E', 21));
let input = "Escape literal { } as {{ and }}";
let parsed = sscanf!(input, "Escape literal {{ }} as {{{{ and }}}}");
assert_eq!(parsed.unwrap(), ());
let input = "Indexing types: N36E21";
let parsed = sscanf!(input, "Indexing types: {1}{0}{1}{0}", NonZeroUsize, char);
// output is in the order of the placeholders
assert_eq!(parsed.unwrap(), ('N', NonZeroUsize::new(36).unwrap(),
'E', NonZeroUsize::new(21).unwrap()));
let input = "A Sentence with Spaces. Another Sentence.";
// str and String do the same, but String clones from the input string
// to take ownership instead of borrowing.
let (a, b) = sscanf!(input, "{String}. {str}.").unwrap();
assert_eq!(a, "A Sentence with Spaces");
assert_eq!(b, "Another Sentence");
// Number format options
let input = "ab01 127 101010 1Z";
let parsed = sscanf!(input, "{usize:x} {i32:o} {u8:b} {u32:r36}");
let (a, b, c, d) = parsed.unwrap();
assert_eq!(a, 0xab01); // Hexadecimal
assert_eq!(b, 0o127); // Octal
assert_eq!(c, 0b101010); // Binary
assert_eq!(d, 71); // any radix (r36 = Radix 36)
assert_eq!(d, u32::from_str_radix("1Z", 36).unwrap());
let input = "color: #D4AF37";
// Number types take their size into account, and hexadecimal u8 can
// have at most 2 digits => only possible match is 2 digits each.
let (r, g, b) = sscanf!(input, "color: #{u8:x}{u8:x}{u8:x}").unwrap();
assert_eq!((r, g, b), (0xD4, 0xAF, 0x37));
```
The input in this case is a `&'static str`, but it can be `String`, `&str`, `&String`, ...
Basically anything with [`Deref<Target=str>`](https://doc.rust-lang.org/std/ops/trait.Deref.html).
and without taking ownership. See [here](https://docs.rs/sscanf/latest/sscanf/macro.sscanf.html#examples)
for a few examples of possible inputs.
The parsing part of this macro has very few limitations, since it replaces the `{}` with a
Regular Expression ([`regex`](https://docs.rs/regex)) that corresponds to that type.
For example:
- `char` is just one character (regex `"."`)
- `str` is any sequence of characters (regex `".+?"`)
- Numbers are any sequence of digits (regex `"[-+]?\d+"`)
And so on. The actual implementation for numbers tries to take the size of the type into
account and some other details, but that is the gist of the parsing.
This means that any sequence of replacements is possible as long as the Regex finds a
combination that works. In the `char, usize, char, usize` example above it manages to assign
the `N` and `E` to the `char`s because they cannot be matched by the `usize`s.
# Format Options
All options are inside `'{'` `'}'` and after a `:`, so either as `{<type>:<option>}` or
as `{:<option>}`. Note: The type might still have a path that contains `::`. Any double
colons are ignored and only single colons are used to separate the options.
Procedural macro don't have any reliable type info and can only compare types by name. This means
that the number options below only work with a literal type like "`i32`", **NO** Paths (~~`std::i32`~~)
or Wrappers (~~`struct Wrapper(i32);`~~) or Aliases (~~`type Alias = i32;`~~). **ONLY** `i32`,
`usize`, `u16`, ...
| `{:/` _\<regex>_ `/}` | custom regex | any |
| `{:x}` | hexadecimal numbers | integers |
| `{:o}` | octal numbers | integers |
| `{:b}` | binary numbers | integers |
| `{:r2}` - `{:r36}` | radix 2 - radix 36 numbers | integers |
| `#` | "alternate" form | various types |
**Custom Regex:**
- `{:/.../}`: Match according to the [`Regex`](https://docs.rs/regex) between the `/` `/`
For example:
```rust
let input = "random Text";
let parsed = sscanf::sscanf!(input, "{str:/[^m]+/}{str}");
// regex [^m]+ matches anything that isn't an 'm'
// => stops at the 'm' in 'random'
assert_eq!(parsed.unwrap(), ("rando", "m Text"));
```
The regex uses the [`same escaping logic as JavaScripts /.../ syntax`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Guide/Regular_Expressions#escaping),
meaning that the normal regex escaping with `\d` for digits etc. is in effect, with the addition
that any `/` need to be escaped as `\/` since they are used to end the regex.
**NOTE:** You should use raw strings for a format string containing a regex, since otherwise you
need to escape any `\` as `\\`:
```rust
use sscanf::sscanf;
let input = "1234";
let parsed = sscanf!(input, r"{u8:/\d{2}/}{u8}"); // regex \d{2} matches 2 digits
let _ = sscanf!(input, "{u8:/\\d{2}/}{u8}"); // the same with a non-raw string
assert_eq!(parsed.unwrap(), (12, 34));
```
Note: If you use any unescaped ( ) in your regex, you have to prevent them from forming a capture
group by adding a `?:` at the beginning: `{:/..(..)../}` becomes `{:/..(?:..)../}`. This won't
change their functionality in any way, but is necessary for `sscanf`'s parsing process to work.
This also means that custom regexes cannot be used on custom types that [`derive FromScanf`](https://docs.rs/sscanf/latest/sscanf/derive.FromScanf.html)
since those rely on having an exact number of capture groups inside of their regex.
**Radix Options:**
Only work on primitive integer types (`u8`, ..., `u128`, `i8`, ..., `i128`, `usize`, `isize`).
- `x`: hexadecimal Number (Digits 0-9 and a-f or A-F), optional prefix `0x` or `0X`
- `o`: octal Number (Digits 0-7), optional prefix `0o` or `0O`
- `b`: binary Number (Digits 0-1), optional prefix `0b` or `0B`
- `r2` - `r36`: any radix Number (Digits 0-9 and a-z or A-Z for higher radices)
**Alternate form:**
If used alongside a radix option: makes the number require a prefix (0x, 0o, 0b).
A note on prefixes: `r2`, `r8` and `r16` match the same numbers as `b`, `o` and `x` respectively,
but without a prefix. Thus:
- `{:x}` _may_ have a prefix, matching numbers like `0xab` or `ab`
- `{:r16}` has no prefix and would only match `ab`
- `{:#x}` _must_ have a prefix, matching only `0xab`
- `{:#r16}` gives a compile error
More uses for `#` may be added in the future. Let me know if you have a suggestion for this.
# Custom Types
`sscanf` works with most primitive Types from `std` as well as `String` by default. The
full list can be seen here: [Implementations of `RegexRepresentation`](https://docs.rs/sscanf/latest/sscanf/trait.RegexRepresentation.html#foreign-impls).
To add more types there are three options:
- Derive [`FromScanf`](https://docs.rs/sscanf/latest/sscanf/trait.FromScanf.html) for your type (recommended)
- Implement **both** [`RegexRepresentation`](https://docs.rs/sscanf/latest/sscanf/trait.RegexRepresentation.html) and [`std::str::FromStr`](https://doc.rust-lang.org/std/str/trait.FromStr.html) for your type
- Implement [`RegexRepresentation`](https://docs.rs/sscanf/latest/sscanf/trait.RegexRepresentation.html) and manually implement [`FromScanf`](https://docs.rs/sscanf/latest/sscanf/trait.FromScanf.html) for your type (highly discouraged)
The simplest option is to use `derive`:
```rust
#[derive(sscanf::FromScanf)]
#[sscanf(format = "#{r:x}{g:x}{b:x}")] // matches '#' followed by 3 hexadecimal u8s
struct Color {
r: u8,
g: u8,
b: u8,
}
let input = "color: #ff00cc";
let parsed = sscanf::sscanf!(input, "color: {Color}").unwrap();
assert!(matches!(parsed, Color { r: 0xff, g: 0x00, b: 0xcc }));
```
Also works for enums:
```rust
#[derive(sscanf::FromScanf)]
enum HasChanged {
#[sscanf(format = "received {added} additions and {deleted} deletions")]
Yes {
added: usize,
deleted: usize,
},
#[sscanf("has not changed")] // the `format =` part can be omitted
No
}
let input = "Your file has not changed since your last visit!";
let parsed = sscanf::sscanf!(input, "Your file {HasChanged} since your last visit!").unwrap();
assert!(matches!(parsed, HasChanged::No));
let input = "Your file received 325 additions and 15 deletions since your last visit!";
let parsed = sscanf::sscanf!(input, "Your file {HasChanged} since your last visit!").unwrap();
assert!(matches!(parsed, HasChanged::Yes { added: 325, deleted: 15 }));
```
More details can be found in the [`FromScanf` documentation](https://docs.rs/sscanf/latest/sscanf/trait.FromScanf.html)
and the [`derive` documentation](https://docs.rs/sscanf/latest/sscanf/derive.FromScanf.html)
# Changelog
See [Changelog.md](https://github.com/mich101mich/sscanf/blob/master/Changelog.md)
# License
Licensed under either of [Apache License, Version 2.0](LICENSE-APACHE) or
[MIT license](LICENSE-MIT) at your option.