spac.utils.spell_out_special_characters(text)[source]

Convert special characters in a string to comply with NIDAP naming rules.

This function processes a string by replacing or removing disallowed characters to ensure compatibility with NIDAP. Spaces, special symbols, and certain substrings are replaced or transformed into readable and regulation-compliant equivalents.

Parameters:

text (str) – The input string to be processed and converted.

Returns:

  • str – A sanitized string with special characters replaced or removed, adhering to NIDAP naming conventions.

  • Processing Steps

  • —————-

    1. Spaces are replaced with underscores (_).

  • 2. Substrings related to units (e.g., ‘µm²’) are replaced with text – equivalents: - ‘µm²’ -> ‘um2’ - ‘µm’ -> ‘um’

    1. Hyphens (-) between letters are replaced with underscores (_).

  • 4. Certain special symbols are mapped to readable equivalents –

    • + -> _pos_

    • - -> _neg_

    • @ -> at

    • # -> hash

    • & -> and

    • And more (see Notes section for a full mapping).

  • 5. Remaining disallowed characters are removed (non-alphanumeric and – non-underscore characters).

  • 6. Consecutive underscores are consolidated into a single underscore.

  • 7. Leading and trailing underscores are stripped.

Notes

The following special character mappings are used: - µ -> u - ² -> 2 - / -> slash - = -> equals - ! -> exclamation - | -> pipe - For a complete list, refer to the special_char_map in the code.

Example

>>> spell_out_special_characters("Data µm²+Analysis #1-2")
'Data_um2_pos_Analysis_hash1_neg_2'

>>> spell_out_special_characters("Invalid!Char@Format")
'Invalid_exclamation_Char_at_Format'