Omid - Challenge 169

data-challenges
advanced-exercises
🔰 Extracted Challenge 169: Extract from the Text (Part 2)!
Published

March 24, 2026

Illustration for Omid - Challenge 169

Challenge Description

🔰 Extracted Challenge 169: Extract from the Text (Part 2)!

Solutions

library(tidyverse)
library(readxl)

path = "files/CH-169 Extract From Text Part 2.xlsx"
input = read_excel(path, range = "B2:B7")
test  = read_excel(path, range = "D2:D7")

result = input %>%
  mutate(result = str_match_all(Text, "(?<=\\{)[^{}]+(?=\\})|(?<=\\[)[^\\]]+(?=\\])|(?<=\\()[^\\)]+(?=\\))|(?<=\\*)[^\\*]+(?=\\*)")) %>%
  mutate(result = map_chr(result, ~paste(., collapse = ", ")))

all.equal(result$result, test$Extracted, check.attributes = FALSE)
#> [1] TRUE

  • Logic:

    • Reads the workbook ranges needed for the challenge

    • Builds the intermediate columns that drive the final result

    • Parses the text patterns directly instead of relying on manual cleanup

  • Strengths:

    • The R solution stays close to the workbook rule and keeps the transformation compact.

  • Areas for Improvement:

    • The code assumes the sheet structure and source ranges remain stable.

  • Gem:

    • The strongest part of the solution is choosing the right intermediate representation before shaping the final output.
import pandas as pd
import re

path = "CH-169 Extract From Text Part 2.xlsx"
input = pd.read_excel(path, usecols="B", skiprows=1, nrows=6)
test = pd.read_excel(path, usecols="D", skiprows=1, nrows=6)

def extract_text(text):
    pattern = r"(?<=\{)[^{}]+(?=\})|(?<=\[)[^\]]+(?=\])|(?<=\()[^\)]+(?=\))|(?<=\*)[^\*]+(?=\*)"
    matches = re.findall(pattern, text)
    return ", ".join(matches)

input['result'] = input['Text'].apply(extract_text)
 
print(input["result"].equals(test["Extracted"])) # True

  • Logic:

    • Reads the workbook ranges needed for the challenge

    • Parses the text patterns directly instead of relying on manual cleanup

  • Strengths:

    • The Python version follows the same rule in a direct dataframe-oriented implementation.

  • Areas for Improvement:

    • The code assumes the workbook layout remains stable, so any sheet redesign would require small adjustments.

  • Gem:

    • The implementation stays close to the original workbook rule instead of adding unnecessary abstraction.

Difficulty Level

This task is moderate:

  • The core logic is clear, but the correct transformation pattern is not obvious from the raw input.

  • The challenge combines multiple reshaping, grouping, or parsing steps.