Fixed Width Layout Overlap Check
Audit positive overlap between half-open fixed-width text layout spans; touching and zero-width spans do not overlap.
Description
Audit positive overlap between half-open fixed-width text layout spans; touching and zero-width spans do not overlap.
Fixed-width fields can overlap when their half-open intervals share positive length. Touching boundaries need not conflict.
When to use this tool
Audit positive overlap between half-open fixed-width text layout spans; touching and zero-width spans do not overlap.
- Prepare the supplied spansJson fields for this operation.
- Compare the complete example with the representation used by your own input before carrying the result into another step.
How to use the tool and how it works
- Enter spansJson. Use the exact text syntax, units and index conventions explained below.
- Run the tool. If input validation fails, correct the supplied fields before interpreting any result.
- Read result.overlapPairs. Interpret false, null and empty lists using the distinctions below; they can be valid outputs.
Parse spansJson as ordered nonnegative integer start/end pairs. Return every distinct pair with max(starts)<min(ends).1
| Input field | Meaning and representation | Accepted input |
|---|---|---|
| spansJson | JSON text, entered as one text field. The decoded structure is illustrated below; it is not a separate file. | Text |
For the JSON text fields, the following decoded structures show the example records before they are serialized into input strings. Keep field names, list nesting and value types as shown.
[
{
"field": "spansJson",
"decoded": [
[
0,
3
],
[
2,
5
],
[
5,
6
]
]
}
]| Output field | Interpretation |
|---|---|
| result | Object containing the named outputs below. |
| result.overlapPairs | The overlap pairs list in the ordering and representation described above. |
{
"input": {
"spansJson": "[[0,3],[2,5],[5,6]]"
},
"output": {
"result": {
"overlapPairs": [
[
0,
1
]
]
}
}
}Limitations and assumptions
- Zero-length fields and endpoint contact do not overlap. No actual text record, field naming or automatic layout repair is involved.
- Every declared top-level field is required and unexpected fields are rejected. Numeric inputs must be finite; ordinary text fields are bounded to 8,192 UTF-16 code units, with tighter operation-specific limits where stated.
- Lists are limited to 128 entries. JSON text must meet bounded size and depth checks, and numeric outputs beyond the safe finite magnitude are rejected. Exact large integers use decimal strings.
- Indexes are zero-based and spans have an exclusive end unless explicitly stated otherwise. A valid false, null or empty-list result is distinct from malformed input.
Alternative or Complementary methods
Choose the exact text grammar before combining serializers and parsers. UTF-16 record lengths, raw separators and custom backslash escapes differ from byte framing, CSV, Markdown and spreadsheet semantics.
References
Similar or alternative tools
- Fixed Width Record Padder
Pad caller cells into explicit UTF-16 fixed-width fields; overflow is rejected instead of silently truncated.
- Key Value Block Duplicate Audit
Audit duplicate literal keys in an ordered key-value block without choosing first or last wins.