ArrayReformat ( valueList ; quoteStyle ; braceStyle ; newSeparator ; oldSeparator )

Convert/transform lists to JSON, quoted lists, or other name value pairs

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Julio Toledo - Show more from this author
Automation USA LLC
https://www.automationusa.net

Sample input:

ArrayReformat ( "item1¶item2¶item3¶item4" ; "'" ; "" ; "" ; "" )

ArrayReformat ( "item1¶item2¶item3¶item4" ; "\"" ; "{}" ; "" ; "" )

ArrayReformat ( "Label-A¶Label-B¶Label-C¶Label-D" ; "«»" ; "[]" ; "; "; "" )

ArrayReformat ( "Label-1,Label-2,Label-3,Label-4" ; "\"" ; "null" ; "¶"; "," )

Sample output:

('item1','item2','item3','item4')

{"item1","item2","item3","item4"}

[«Label-A»; «Label-B»; «Label-C»; «Label-D»]

"Label-1"¶"Label-2"¶"Label-3"¶"Label-4"

Function definition: (Copy & paste into FileMaker's Edit Custom Function window)

/*
 * =====================================================
 * ArrayReformat ( valueList ; quoteStyle ; braceStyle ; newSeparator ; oldSeparator )
 * 
 * PARAMETERS:
 *		valueList = Any value list with any separator of any length (i.e. "Label1 : Label2 : ", "Label1,Label2", "Label1¶Label2", "Label1 ||| Label2 ||| ", "Label1__COLUMN_SEPARATOR__Label2__COLUMN_SEPARATOR__", etc.)
 *		quoteStyle = Quote Punctuation style. Defaults to apostrophe ( ' ). May be quotation mark ( " ),  or any other single or double character (open & close) delimiter . Examples: double quotes ( “” ), exclamation marks ( ¡! ),, pipe symbols ( | ) , even carriage returns ( ¶ )
 *		braceStyle = Enclosing Punctuation style. Defaults to open & close parentheses "( )". May be any other single character delimiter. Examples: braces { } , brackets [ ], double angle quotation marks « », double quotes “”. Use "NULL" to opt out.
 *		newSeparator = New list delimiter. Defaults to comma "," separator. May be any other value of any length, the sky is the limit.
 *		oldSeparator = Original list delimiter. Defaults to carriage return "¶" separator. May be any other value of any length, the sky is the limit.
 *
 * RETURNS:
 *		Returns a text array in any format you specify, using custom separator, and left and right quotes, and left and right braces
 *
 *		Examples: 
 *				ArrayReformat ( "Label1¶Label2¶Label3¶Label4" ; "\"" ; "null" ; " : " ; ""  )  returns —-> "Label1" : "Label2" : "Label3" : "Label4"
 *
 *				ArrayReformat ( "Label1¶Label2¶Label3¶Label4" ; "«»" ; "" ; "; ", "" )  returns —-> («Label1»; «Label2»; «Label3»; «Label4»)
 *
 *		 		ArrayReformat ( "item1¶item2¶item3¶item4" ; "'" ; "" ; "" ; "" )   returns  —-> ('item1','item2','item3','item4')
 *
 *		Use cases: 
 *				Create quoted lists for executing SQL queries such as "SELECT firstname,lastname,city,state FROM myContacts WHERE state IN ('MI','IN','OH')": 
 *		 		ArrayReformat ( "MI¶IN¶OH" ; "'" ; "" ; "" ; "" )   returns  —-> ('MI','IN','OH')
 *
 *				Create well formed JSON and other name-value pairs by using in conjunction with a merge array recursive function ( such as "ArrayCombine" http://www.briandunning.com/cf/2037). For example:
 *
 *				Let ( [
 *
 *					list1 = ArrayReformat ( "Label1,Label2,Label3,Label4" ; "\"" ; "null" ; "¶" ;  "," ) ;
 *					list2 = ArrayReformat ( "fantastic!¶...but what about¶a syntax for adding¶an element to the END of an array?" ; "\"" ; "null" ; "¶"; "" )
 *					] ; 
 *
 *					//calculation
 *					ArrayReformat ( ArrayCombine ( list1 ; list2 ; 1 ; " : " ) ; "{}" ; "[]" ; " , " ; "" )
 *				)
 *
 *				Returns the following JSON —> [{"Label1" : "fantastic!"} , {"Label2" : "...but what about"} , {"Label3" : "a syntax for adding"} , {"Label4" : "an element to the END of an array?"}]
 *
 *
 * DEPENDENCIES:
 * 		None
 *
 * NOTES:
 * 		To opt out of the enclosing "braceStyle" punctuation, Use "null" parameter value
 *
 * RELEASE:
 * 		2017-04-27 - 	Initial release by Julio Toledo
 * 		2017-05-05 - 	Modifications by Julio Toledo:
 * 					* renamed function from "ReformatArray" to "ArrayReformat"
 * 					* added "oldSeparator" optional parameter, which provides the ability to substitute any existing value separator for any other separator (defaults to carriage return "¶")
 * =====================================================
 * 
 */

Let ( [ 

	OldSeparator = If ( IsEmpty ( oldSeparator ) ; "¶"; oldSeparator ) ;

	Separator = If ( IsEmpty ( newSeparator ) ; ","; newSeparator ) ;

	QuoteType = If ( IsEmpty ( quoteStyle ) ; "'"; quoteStyle )  ;

	RightQuote =   Right ( QuoteType ; 1 ) ;

	LeftQuote =   Left ( QuoteType ; 1 ) ;

	ListBrace = If ( IsEmpty ( braceStyle ) ; "()"; If ( braceStyle = "NULL" ; "" ; braceStyle ) ) ; 

	RightBrace = Right ( ListBrace ; 1 ) ;

	LeftBrace = Left  ( ListBrace ; 1 ) ;

	//remove last carriage retrun ( if any)

	LastChar = Right ( valueList ; 1 ) ;

	TrimLast = Left ( valueList ; Length ( ValueList ) - 1 ) ;

	cleanList = Case ( LastChar = "¶" or LastChar = Char ( "10" ) or LastChar = Char ( "13" )  ; TrimLast ; ValueList )  

	] ; 

	//calculation
	LeftBrace & LeftQuote & Substitute ( cleanList ; oldSeparator ; RightQuote & Separator & LeftQuote ) & RightQuote & RightBrace
 )

ArrayReformat can be used to transform any list (values separated by any separator [returns, commas, strings, etc.) into any other syntax string using new punctuation and value separators.

Use cases include converting CSV to JSON values, creating quoted lists for SQL "IN" queries as well as to create properly formatted JSON by combining name lists and value lists using a recursive function

Examples:
ArrayReformat ( "Label1,Label2,Label3,Label4" ; "\"" ; "null" ; " : " ; "," ) returns —-> "Label1" : "Label2" : "Label3" : "Label4"

ArrayReformat ( "Label1¶Label2¶Label3¶Label4" ; "«»" ; "" ; "; " ; "" ) returns —-> («Label1»; «Label2»; «Label3»; «Label4»)

ArrayReformat ( "item1¶item2¶item3¶item4" ; "'" ; "" ; "" ; "" ) returns —-> ('item1','item2','item3','item4')

Create quoted lists for executing SQL queries such as "SELECT firstname,lastname,city,state FROM myContacts WHERE state IN ('MI','IN','OH')":
ArrayReformat ( "MI¶IN¶OH" ; "'" ; "" ; "" ; "" ) returns —-> ('MI','IN','OH')

Create well formed JSON and other name-value pairs by using in conjunction with a merge array function ( such as "ArrayCombine" http://www.briandunning.com/cf/2037). For example:

Let ( [

list1 = ArrayReformat ( "Label1¶Label2¶Label3¶Label4" ; "\"" ; "null" ; "¶" ; "" ) ;
list2 = ArrayReformat ( "fantastic!¶...but what about¶a syntax for adding¶an element to the END of an array?" ; "\"" ; "null" ; "¶"; "" )
] ;

//calculation
ArrayReformat ( ArrayCombine ( list1 ; list2 ; 1 ; " : " ) ; "{}" ; "[]" ; " , " ; "" )
)

Returns the following JSON —> [{"Label1" : "fantastic!"} , {"Label2" : "...but what about"} , {"Label3" : "a syntax for adding"} , {"Label4" : "an element to the END of an array?"}]

NOTES:
To opt out of the enclosing "braceStyle" punctuation, Use "null" parameter value

RELEASE:
2017-04-27 - Initial release by Julio Toledo, Automation USA, LLC
2017-05-05 - Modifications by Julio Toledo, Automation USA, LLC:
* renamed function from "ReformatArray" to "ArrayReformat"
* added "oldSeparator" optional parameter, which provides the ability to substitute any existing value separator for any other separator (defaults to return "¶")

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Note: these functions are not guaranteed or supported by BrianDunning.com. Please contact the individual developer with any questions or problems.

ArrayReformat ( valueList ; quoteStyle ; braceStyle ; newSeparator ; oldSeparator )

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