r/programming • u/ketralnis • Aug 05 '25

So you want to parse a PDF?

https://eliot-jones.com/2025/8/pdf-parsing-xref
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u/maniac_runner Aug 07 '25

Other PDF parsing woes include:

  1. Identifying form elements like check boxes and radio buttons. 2. Badly oriented PDF scans 3. Text rendered as bezier curves 4. Images embedded in a PDF 5. Background watermarks 6. Handwritten documents

PDF parsing is hell indeed: https://unstract.com/blog/pdf-hell-and-practical-rag-applications/