--- description: Formatting, validating and searching precisely: three different tasks that are easy to mix up. url: https://www.schmalzl.tirol/en/blog/2026-05-08-json-regulaere-ausdruecke-werkzeugkoffer lang: en date: 2026-05-08 deutsch: /blog/2026-05-08-json-regulaere-ausdruecke-werkzeugkoffer.md --- # A small toolkit for JSON and text patterns _8 May 2026 ยท Archive date_ A compact toolkit for data sounds unspectacular. In everyday use it can still be handy: making a structured text readable, finding an error or searching for a particular pattern in a sample file of your own. The important thing is to keep these tasks apart. A nice presentation does not mean the data is valid or correct in content. ## Making JSON readable and validating it An invented list contains the titles "Papierstadt" and "Wolkenwege", each with a volume number. Formatting adds line breaks and indentation. This makes the structure easier to see. A syntax check, on the other hand, examines whether the format is built correctly. Missing quotation marks or an unclosed bracket are different errors from a wrongly entered volume number. [MDN describes JSON and how it is processed](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/JSON). A content comparison then has to check whether the right fields and values are there. This third task cannot be done by indenting alone. ## A text pattern is a search rule Regular expressions can describe patterns, for example an agreed identifier in invented test lines. [The MDN introduction explains the approach](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Guide/Regular_expressions). A sensible test contains matching examples and deliberately non-matching ones. A search rule should not promise more than it captures. A pattern for date formats, for example, does not confirm that the calendar day actually exists. Similarly, a formally valid identifier can belong to the wrong entry. A small test text of your own makes the limits visible. This turns a collection of helpers into an understandable process: display, check the form and compare the meaning. You need neither confidential files nor an unknown online converter for this. ## Original finds These links were the starting point for this post. The assessment in the text is mine; the linked posts are not my own tests. - [Offline desktop collection for JSON, encoding, regular expressions and hashes; product name still unclear.]() > **About the date:** This post was written on 11 October 2026. The archive date matches the earliest related find in the collection, not a publication at that time. Technical assessments and sources added later refer to the time of writing.