Parser for turning bad json into valid json, or PJTJP

psudo-json-to-json-parser.py

import re

def convert_to_json_like(input_str):
    # Preprocess the input by removing quotes and condensing spaces
    input_str = re.sub(r'[\'"]', '', input_str)
    input_str = re.sub(r'\s+', ' ', input_str).strip()

    # Initialize variables
    new_str = []
    looking_for_first_alpha = True
    last_alpha_pos_new_str = -1  # Position of the last alphanumeric character in the new string

    # Virtual cursor to iterate through characters
    i = 0
    while i < len(input_str):
        c = input_str[i]

        if c.isalnum() or c == '_':
            # Alphanumeric character found
            if looking_for_first_alpha:
                new_str.append('"')  # Insert quote before first alphanumeric
                looking_for_first_alpha = False
            last_alpha_pos_new_str = len(new_str)  # Record position in the new string

        elif c.isspace():
            # Space found, just continue
            i += 1
            continue

        elif c in ['{', '}', '[', ']', ':', ',']:
            # Structural character found
            if not looking_for_first_alpha:
                # Insert quote after last alphanumeric
                new_str.insert(last_alpha_pos_new_str + 1, '"')
                looking_for_first_alpha = True

        # Add the current character to the new string
        new_str.append(c)
        i += 1

    # Handle trailing word without structural character
    if not looking_for_first_alpha:
        new_str.insert(last_alpha_pos_new_str + 1, '"')

    # Convert to string and handle trailing commas
    result = ''.join(new_str)
    result = re.sub(r'\s*,\s*([}\]])', r'\1', result)  # Remove trailing commas before } or ]

    return result