+++
date    = "2025-12-03T22:53:57+00:00"
lastmod = "2025-12-03T22:53:57+00:00"
tags    = [ "programs", "gists" ]
+++

I think someone asked. But is it possible to classically convert a
{{< abbr PDF "Portable Document Format" >}} into
{{< abbr JSON "JavaScript Object Notation" >}}? And the answer is yes,
[yes you can](https://github.com/qpdf/qpdf#:~:text=content-preserving). The
[feats](https://qpdf.readthedocs.io/en/stable/json.html#qpdf-json-example) of
programming know no end (it's out of my explanatory scope, sorry).

```shell { caption="Creating a JSON representation of a PDF" }
qpdf --json-output my.pdf my.json
```

I'm finally realizing that in the stack link of
[this post](/tdro/messages/delete/#tdro-messages-delete),
there's actually an entry about ["grepping" the device](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/15731036/gcc-a-c-o-a-c-in-what-way-can-i-restore-the-real-c-file/57782733#57782733). Everything's a file or
something. It feels comical.