python - Efficiently replace multi-line list strings with single_line list string -

i'm trying parse output os x's mdls command. keys, value list of values. need capture these key, value pairs correctly. lists of values start ( , end ).

i need able iterate on key, value pairs can parse multiple outputs (i.e. mdls run on multiple files produce single output, there no distinction between 1 file's metadata ends , other's begins). have sample code below.

is there more efficient way this?

import re  mdls_output = """kmditemauthors                 = (     margheim ) kmditemcontentcreationdate     = 2015-07-10 14:41:01 +0000 kmditemcontentmodificationdate = 2015-07-10 14:41:01 +0000 kmditemcontenttype             = "com.adobe.pdf" kmditemcontenttypetree         = (     "com.adobe.pdf",     "public.data",     "public.item",     "public.composite-content",     "public.content" ) kmditemcreator                 = "safari" kmditemdateadded               = 2015-07-10 14:41:01 +0000 """  mdls_lists = re.findall(r"^\w+\s+=\s\(\n.*?\n\)$", mdls_output, re.s | re.m) single_line_lists = [re.sub(r'\s+', ' ', x.strip()) x in mdls_lists] i, mdls_list in enumerate(mdls_lists):     mdls_output = mdls_output.replace(mdls_list, single_line_lists[i]) print(mdls_output) 

you can take advantage of python's regex substitute can take function replacement string. function called each match match object. returned string replaces match.

def myfn(m):     return re.sub(r'\s+', ' ', m.group().strip())  pat = re.compile(r"^\w+\s+=\s\(\n.*?\n\)$", re.s | re.m) mdls_output = pat.sub(myfn, mdls_output)