Definition Extraction¶

The unformat parameter extracts structured values from a rule's cprmv:definition text using the Python parse library's pattern syntax.

When to use it¶

Rule definitions in Dutch law frequently embed domain-specific values in natural language:

Huur: € 1.200,—

The unformat parameter allows you to pull these values out as named fields in the JSON response, ready for direct use in downstream processing or decision model inputs — without needing a separate text-parsing step.

Pattern syntax¶

Use {fieldname:param_value} placeholders in the pattern string. The :param_value type annotation is required; it matches any non-empty string.

Pattern: {situatie:param_value}: € {norm:param_value}

This matches a definition like Huur: € 1.200,— and extracts:

{
    "situatie": "Huur",
    "norm": "1.200,—",
    "rulesetid": "BWBR0015703_2025-07-01_0",
    "rule_id_path": "BWBR0015703_2025-07-01_0, Artikel 20, lid 1, onderdeel a.",
    "https://standaarden.open-regels.nl/standards/cprmv/0.4.0/#id": "onderdeel a.",
    "https://standaarden.open-regels.nl/standards/cprmv/0.4.0/#definition": "Huur: € 1.200,—"
}

The extracted named fields are merged at the top level of the cprmv-json response alongside the full rule predicates and the rulesetid and rule_id_path context fields.

Behaviour when the pattern does not match¶

If the parse search does not find the pattern in the definition text, unformat has no effect and the standard cprmv-json response is returned without the extracted fields.

Non-breaking spaces¶

The API normalises cprmv:definition text before matching: sequences of non-breaking spaces (\u00A0) are converted to regular spaces. This ensures patterns work consistently regardless of how the source XML encoded whitespace.

URL encoding the pattern¶

The unformat value must be URL-encoded in requests constructed manually:

Character	Encoded
`{`	`%7B`
`}`	`%7D`
`:`	`%3A`
	`%20`
`€`	`%E2%82%AC`

Example full URL:

GET /rules/BWBR0015703_2025-07-01_0%2C%20Artikel%2020%2C%20lid%201%2C%20onderdeel%20a.
    ?unformat=%7Bsituatie%3Aparam_value%7D%3A%20%E2%82%AC%20%7Bnorm%3Aparam_value%7D

FastAPI's Swagger UI handles encoding automatically.

Format override¶

When unformat is specified, the format parameter is ignored and the response is always cprmv-json. The unformat mechanism operates on the rule's definition literal, which is only available in the cprmv-json structure.