How to Normalize Text Input to ASCII in Python Using the strings.Map Function?

Normalizing Text Input to ASCII: A Way Forward in Python

When constructing text processing tools, handling non-ASCII characters can be a significant challenge. For instance, curly quotes present a common source of discrepancy. Exchanging these characters with their standard ASCII counterparts is a crucial step towards data normalization for improved text analysis.

In the Python standard library, the strings.Map function emerges as a powerful solution for character substitution. Unlike a generic 'ToAscii' function, Map offers a customizable approach, enabling users to define a custom mapping function that converts runes to their desired ASCII equivalent.

To demonstrate this approach, let's consider a text sample containing both curly and straight quotes:

data = "Hello “Frank” or ‹François› as you like to be ‘called’"

Using the strings.Map function, we can define a custom mapping function, normalize, which replaces curly quotes with their ASCII counterparts:

<code class="python">func normalize(in rune) rune {
    switch in {
    case '“', '‹', '”', '›':
        return '"'
    case '‘', '’':
        return '\''
    }
    return in
}</code>

Applying this function to the input data results in normalized text:

cleanedData := strings.Map(normalize, data)
fmt.Printf("Cleaned: %s\n", cleanedData)

Output:

Cleaned: Hello "Frank" or "François" as you like to be 'called'

By utilizing the strings.Map function and a custom mapping function, we have effectively normalized text input, replacing non-ASCII characters with their ASCII equivalents. This approach ensures compatibility with downstream applications that require standardized text formatting.

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