Package containing functions frequently used by me in other scripts

You can fork the rep or use pip:

pip install gab_toolbox

Here I will list and briefly describe the classes and functions contained.

Functions used for importing and writing files, formatting dictionaries and lists. To import use:

from gab_toolbox import format_tools

To use the specific function:

format_tools.arr2dic(arguments)

Function used to check and eventually modify strings used for saving file names in case they contain not accepted symbols.

valid_title(title,[char])

The function checks if the string or array of strings specified in title is valid and returns the string/s with the invalid character/s replaced with a valid character set = '_' by [default]. If you want to change the substituting character just change the [char] entry.

Function used to import files as an array. Every new line is a new entry of the array.

import_file(file)

In file you must specify the name and extension of the file you want to import and, if the file is not located in the working directory, you must add the full file path.

Function used to write text files from arrays. Every array entry will be written in a separeted line.

write_file(array,file)

• In array you must write the target array that needs to be exported.
• In file you must specify the name and extension. The full path name must be specified if you don't want the file in the working directory.

Function used to convert dictionaries to a 2D array. Every entry corrisponds to a dict entry.

dic2arr(dictionary,[order],[sort],[rev])

• The first argument accepts the dictionary variable and it's the only obligatory argument.
• The [order] argument controls how the array is filled; for order=0 [default] the resulting array will follow the dict order [key, value], for order=1 the opposite.
• The [sort] and [rev] arguments control the order of the array; for sort = 1 the array will be sorted following an ascending order of the first value and then the second value of each array, for rev = 1 the sorting order will be discending. By default sort=0 and rev=0.

Function used to convert 2D arrays in dictionaries. The array needs to be formatted as [[key,value],...] and every array will corrispond to a dict entry.

arr2dic(array,[sort],[rev],[overwrite])

• The first argument accepts the array variable and it's the only obligatory argument.
• The [sort] and [rev] argument control the order of the dictionary; for sort = 1 the dictionary will be sorted following an ascending order of the first value of each array, for rev = 1 the sorting order will be discending. By [default] sort=0 and rev=0.
• The [overwrite] argument gives the possibility to merge multiple values under the same key; for overwrite=0 [default] the values will be merged while for overwrite=1 it will only save the last value corresponding to the key.

Function used to match a template word with a list of sample words.

word_match(word,words,[limit])

• The first argument is the template word.
• The second argument is the list of sample words.
• The [limit] argument is an optional value between 0 and 1 (default is set to 0.5) and it defines the "strictness" of the matching. Higher values will output very similar matches to the template word.

The function returns the sample words matched, the corresponding index in the list and the score.

Functions that can be used for latex. To import use:

from gab_toolbox import tex_tools

To use the specific function:

tex_tools.bib_entries(arguments)

This function is used to separate and classify bib files, imported as list.

bib_entries(bib_array,crit)

• bib_array accepts the imported bib file as a list.
• crit is the criterion you want to extrapolate form the bib entries. They are:
  • by_ref: extrapolate the ref name,
  • by_date: extrapolate the publication date,
  • by_title: extrapolate the title,
  • by_author: extrapolate the author

The list can be manually expanded and modified if the user needs different criterions or uses a different format. The format is the following:

'by_date': ['\tyear','{','}','by date'],

The first argument finds the symbol or string that identifies the line that contains the key. The second and third arguments are used to find and isolate the value of the key. For e.g. the date key is located in the line that starts with \tyear and the value is delimited by { }:

\tyear={2005}.

The fourth argument is a descriptor and it is optional. The function returns a 2D array with the choosen criterion as string and the corresponding entry as list.

sort_bib(bib_array,[order],[form],[crit])

Function used to sort the array.

• The first argument accept any array that is formatted as the ouput of bib_entries ([key,[entry]]) or the imported bib file as list. if you want to use directly the order bib you must set the [form] argument to 1 and specify the criterion.
• The [order] argument is used to define the type of sorting: ascending (0) or descending (1).

The function returns as the first argument the sorted bib entries ready to be saved and the corresponding sorted array with [key,[entry]] format.

order_bib(bib_array,key_word,[limit],[form],[crit])

Function used to filter the array based on the key argument.

• The first argument accepts any array that is formatted as the ouput of bib_entries ([key,[entry]]) or the imported bib file as list. if you want to use directly the order bib you must set the [form] argument to 1 and specify the criterion.
• The second argument is used to filter the entries. It compares the user input to the key argument of the bib_array.
• The [limit] argument is an optional value between 0 and 1 (default is set to 0.5) and it defines the word_matching "strength"; Higher limits will result in a more strict filtering (very similar words)

The function returns all the corresponding entries ordered by appearance as bib entries ready to be saved and the corresponding sorted array with [key,[entry]] format.

ttt(file_array,[sep])

This function converts any imported csv files as list to a list ready to be saved that follows latex table format.

• The first argument accepts the original csv file (imported as list) to be converted.
• The [sep] argument defines the column separator. By default is set to \t (tab).

Functions that can be used for emailng updates on long running scripts. To import use:

from gab_toolbox import mail_tools

To use the specific function:

mail_tools.success_mail(arguments)

success_mail(to_mail,info,[from_mail],[from_pass])

This functions sends to a receciving address (to_mail) a success mail stating:

"The script finished succesfully, here are some informations:

• Script name: [name of the script]
• info: [info] that the user chooses to send (eg. file processesd, processing time etcetc)"

The arguments [from_mail] and [from_pass] are correspondigly the sender mail and sender mail password (needed to login). The arguments have standard given by enviromental variables registered as 'python_sender' (for [from_mail]) and 'python_sender_pass' (for [from_pass]).

error_mail(to_mail,info,[from_mail],[from_pass])

This functions sends to a receciving address (to_mail) a error mail stating:

"An error occured, here are some informations:

• Script name: [name of the script]
• info: [info] that the user chooses to send (eg. raised exception type, error line etcetc)"

half_way(to_mail,info,[from_mail],[from_pass])

This functions sends to a receciving address (to_mail) an update mail stating:

"The script [name of the script] is still running!"