Preparing a better question: large data file (JSON from a SVG) on Pastebin.com to be run through JavaScript, AWK, and sed:

Question

I have a task that will benefit from writing a good question on Stack Exchange - in that I think the results will be instructive in general. Of course.

There is a large SVG file already on Pastebin.com here, and it needs to be run through command-line JavaScript - see here. This makes a JSON format file. After that step AWK comes in** - to prepare x,y data input (or CSV, if you will) for gnuplot. I could reduce it down to a fake "reproducible" or "academic"-looking case, but this can violate the "X/Y problem" dictates.

Clearly, this is a case where there are many degrees of freedom, shall we say. I am balking at writing a question (I'm thinking Code Review, Stack Overflow, Unix & Linux, and maybe Super User) with this dilemma:

• write a specific, narrow question about awk, fields, wildcards, etc. It will look "academic" with echo aa.aa,bb.bb,cc.cc,dd.dd | awk [..and so on..] and so on as can already be found on Stack Overflow - and are, IMHO, instructive.

• write a "what needs to be actually done" question, where to do that, pastebin will help, and users have to run a JavaScript they might not have. I could make an output file from the JavaScript and maybe put that in Pastebin.com. But then it appears to be a backhanded way of asking someone to fix my problem (which I hope I do not do, but...).

... so guidance how to write such a question, or where to post perhaps individual "academic"-ish questions will help me write a better question.

UPDATE:

**from doing more homework:

1. it appears that indicating the JSON file format is important now. originally thought it wasn't a biggie because I start with SVG, which I say.

2. Homework repeatedly led me to few posts on Stack Overflow (I tend to go to S.O. and U.& L.) that assert sed or awk is not "designed" to parse JSON data and will be "fragile (at best)".. I note the answer with that assertion has +8.

Answer 1

In the meantime I made progress on a number of problems documented here and here. TL;DR use cairosvg to approximate quadratics with cubics.

The pastebin thing never had to be used, thankfully, but I am still not sure what to make of that - as other Stack Overflow (for instance) posts make use of it.

Another big insight I just learned while writing this answer was that Stack Overflow has its own Meta site - I was under the impression that Meta Stack Exchange was the place to ask Meta questions, but apparently not when the Stack Exchange in question is Stack Overflow. Perhaps other SEs have their own Metas.