How to Parse Data with Type Hints in Python

from typing import Any, Dict, List, Union


def parse_data(raw: str) -> Union[Dict[str, Any], List[Any], str]:
    """Parse a simple string into structured data using type hints."""
    cleaned = raw.strip()
    
    if not cleaned:
        return {}
    
    if cleaned.startswith("{") and cleaned.endswith("}"):
        # Handle dictionary-like input
        items = cleaned[1:-1].split(",")
        result: Dict[str, Any] = {}
        for item in items:
            if ":" in item:
                key, value = item.split(":", 1)
                result[key.strip().strip("'\"")] = value.strip()
        return result
    
    if cleaned.startswith("[") and cleaned.endswith("]"):
        # Handle list-like input
        items = cleaned[1:-1].split(",")
        return [item.strip() for item in items if item.strip()]
    
    return cleaned


if __name__ == "__main__":
    sample_input = "{'name': 'Alice', 'age': 30}"
    parsed = parse_data(sample_input)
    print(parsed)
    print(type(parsed).__name__)