scitex-str 0.1.9

Text processing utilities for scientific workflows — LaTeX formatting, colored output, string parsing, and plot text helpers

SciTeX Str (scitex-str)

Text processing utilities for scientific workflows.

Full Documentation · uv pip install scitex-str[all]

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Problem and Solution

#	Problem	Solution
1	LaTeX labels crash matplotlib when TeX isn't installed — CI runners, laptops without MacTeX, Colab without !apt install texlive all fail	safe_latex_render(s) — auto-detects LaTeX; falls back to mathtext then unicode silently
2	ANSI color codes + grep/parse sprinkled as ad-hoc re patterns — each script reinvents the wheel	Grab-bag of helpers — printc, color_text, grep, parse, replace, mask_api, readable_bytes — boring but consistent across 33 packages

Installation

Requires Python >= 3.10.

pip install scitex-str

Architecture

scitex_str/
├── _to_latex_style.py / _safe_to_latex_style.py   # LaTeX rendering with fallback
├── _color_text.py / _printc.py                     # ANSI color helpers
├── _parse.py / _grep.py / _search.py / _replace.py # text search & template parse
├── _format_plot_text.py                            # axis-label formatter
├── _readable_bytes.py / _factor_out_digits.py      # numeric formatting
├── _mask_api.py / _remove_ansi.py                  # sanitization
├── _squeeze_space.py / _title.py / _decapitalize.py# small string ops
└── ...                                              # ~20 boring helpers, one per file

flowchart LR
    LX[LaTeX/mathtext<br/>fallback] --> A[to_latex_style<br/>safe_latex_render]
    ANSI[ANSI tooling] --> B[printc / ct / remove_ansi]
    Tmpl[Template parsing] --> C[parse / grep / search / replace]
    Fmt[Numeric formatting] --> D[readable_bytes<br/>factor_out_digits]
    Plot[Plot text] --> E[format_plot_text]
    Sanit[Sanitization] --> F[mask_api_key]

_{Figure 1. Module layout. Each helper is a single-file leaf — boring on purpose, consistent across 33 ecosystem packages.}

1 Interfaces

Python API

import scitex_str as ss

# LaTeX-style formatting (with safe fallback)
ss.to_latex_style("theta")              # r"$\theta$"
ss.safe_to_latex_style("unknown")       # "unknown" (no error)

# Colored terminal output
ss.printc("Success!", color="green")
ss.ct("Warning", color="yellow")        # returns colored string

# Parse structured paths
ss.parse("./data/Patient_23/Hour_12",
         "./data/Patient_{id}/Hour_{hour}")  # {'id': 23, 'hour': 12}

# Plot text formatting
ss.format_plot_text("amplitude_mv")     # "Amplitude [mV]"

# Numeric formatting
ss.readable_bytes(1_500_000)            # "1.43 MB"
ss.factor_out_digits([1000, 2000, 3000])

# Misc
ss.grep(pattern, lines)
ss.search(...)
ss.replace(...)
ss.mask_api_key("sk-...")
ss.remove_ansi(text)
ss.squeeze_space("a  b   c")            # "a b c"
ss.title_case("hello world")
ss.decapitalize("Hello")

Demo

import scitex_str as ss

# 1) LaTeX-safe label rendering — no crash if TeX missing
label = ss.safe_to_latex_style("theta")    # "$\\theta$" or unicode fallback

# 2) Colored terminal status
ss.printc("[ok] tunnel established", color="green")
ss.printc("[warn] retry in 3s",      color="yellow")

# 3) Parse a structured directory
ss.parse("./data/Patient_23/Hour_12",
         "./data/Patient_{id}/Hour_{hour}")  # → {'id': 23, 'hour': 12}

# 4) Human-readable byte size
ss.readable_bytes(1_500_000)               # → "1.43 MB"

# 5) Mask credentials before logging
ss.mask_api_key("sk-abcdef1234567890")     # → "sk-***7890"

flowchart LR
    A[Raw value] --> B{kind?}
    B -- bytes --> RB[readable_bytes]
    B -- path --> P[parse]
    B -- math --> L[safe_to_latex_style]
    B -- secret --> M[mask_api_key]
    B -- log line --> PC[printc]
    RB --> O[Pretty output]
    P --> O
    L --> O
    M --> O
    PC --> O
    style O fill:#27ae60,stroke:#2c3e50,color:#fff

_{Figure 2. Demo. Pick the helper by what you have, not by where it lives.}

Part of SciTeX

scitex-str is part of SciTeX. Install via the umbrella with pip install scitex[str] to use as scitex.str (Python) or scitex str ... (CLI).

Four Freedoms for Research

0. The freedom to run your research anywhere — your machine, your terms.
1. The freedom to study how every step works — from raw data to final manuscript.
2. The freedom to redistribute your workflows, not just your papers.
3. The freedom to modify any module and share improvements with the community.

AGPL-3.0 — because we believe research infrastructure deserves the same freedoms as the software it runs on.

License

AGPL-3.0-only.

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