scrapinghub / scrapinghub/dateparser

Date ambiguities during search_dates

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search_dates Type: Bug
Dominant language
Python
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Merged PRs (30d)
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Description

For the following

from dateparser.search import search_dates
result_date = search_dates("Statement: 4 February 2019 10 4")
print(result_date)     

We get the result:
[('4 February', datetime.datetime(2020, 2, 4, 0, 0)), ('2019 10', datetime.datetime(2019, 10, 4, 0, 0))]

The last numbers are not dates, but are seen as such. That is okay because "2019 10 4" could make a valid date. But then "4 February 2019" should still be identified correctly.

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Research direction

Start by reproducing the example through the dateparser.search.search_dates entry point and inspect how the text is split into date candidates. The fix is done when “4 February 2019” is identified as one date without incorrectly treating the trailing numbers as part of separate dates, while the reported input still parses correctly.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
python
Domain
backend
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
3/5
Estimated time
1-2 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
42/100

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