Terse umbrella concept for data validation and standardization? [closed]

Question

I want to write some code that handles both data validation (for example, "field X must be alphanumeric") and data standardization (for example, "coerce field X into upper case"). I'd like a rubric for this code that encompasses these two functions without being significantly less terse than either of them (as, for example, using ValidationAndStandardization would be). An established term would be preferred, but inventions are better than nothing.

Answer 1

I would use parse¹.

Technically, parsing only requires recognizing that an input matches some particular grammar--that is, the qualification part you've mentioned.

That's almost always accompanied by transforming input that allows an (often large) number of variations, and transforming it into some format that's standardized and relatively easy for other code to deal with. In fact, the transformation step is so common that I'm pretty sure most programmers would reject the idea of code really being a parser if it only verified conformance with a grammar.

The canonical example would be a compiler's parser, which verifies that the input (your program) is syntactically correct, and typically also produces something like an abstract syntax tree--the input code transformed into a format that's easier to work with, recognize patterns, further transform, etc.

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1. Paraphrasing parsimonious partners: parsing is paradise!