From a3af9c50fd3fc5d7a8a2ada44aa560f2241022db Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: FireZombieCoder <firezombiecoder@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 2026 18:12:43 -0500
Subject: [PATCH] Document AFE debugger limits and add JSON_GET example.

Clarify that the debugger is a partial evaluator (REGEX and other gaps) and ship a small REGEXEXTRACT-based JSON helper module for the examples folder.
---
 advanced-formula-environment/FAQ.md           | 14 ++++
 .../examples/JSON_GET.md                      | 78 +++++++++++++++++++
 2 files changed, 92 insertions(+)
 create mode 100644 advanced-formula-environment/examples/JSON_GET.md

diff --git a/advanced-formula-environment/FAQ.md b/advanced-formula-environment/FAQ.md
index 5ef3584..9d0b664 100644
--- a/advanced-formula-environment/FAQ.md
+++ b/advanced-formula-environment/FAQ.md
@@ -8,3 +8,17 @@ This happens when AFE tries to save a formula with certain errors in, such as a
 - Check that none of the formulas have errors (red underlines).
 - If the formulas use structured references, check that they match the tables and table columns in the workbook.
 - If the error persists, feel free to create an issue on the tracker with the formulas.
+
+#### Why does a formula work in the grid but fail in the AFE debugger?
+The formula debugger is a **separate, partial evaluator** inside Advanced Formula Environment. It is not the same as Excel’s calculation engine or the classic **Evaluate Formula** dialog.
+
+Excel may return a correct result in the cell while the debugger reports that a feature is not implemented. Common cases include:
+
+- **REGEX functions** (`REGEXEXTRACT`, `REGEXTEST`, `REGEXREPLACE`, `REGEXEXTRACTALL`) — tracked in [Excel-Labs#45](https://github.com/microsoft/Excel-Labs/issues/45).
+- **Other unimplemented functions** — the debugger may show a message such as *The formula uses features which the debugger does not yet implement* with a `Details:` function name (see [Excel-Labs#41](https://github.com/microsoft/Excel-Labs/issues/41)).
+- **Dynamic / spilled arrays** — the debugger may refuse formulas that use spilled-array features even when the grid result is a single value (see [advanced-formula-environment#83](https://github.com/microsoft/advanced-formula-environment/issues/83)).
+
+**Workaround while debugging:** use Excel’s **Formulas → Evaluate Formula**, or break the calculation into helper cells / intermediate named steps that avoid unsupported debugger features. Grid results remain authoritative when they differ from the debugger.
+
+#### Do module function names allow dots?
+Prefer **underscores** in named formula identifiers authored in modules (for example `JSON_GET`), not dotted names such as `JSON.GET`. Dotted identifiers are easy to confuse with module qualification and can break module syntax. Path *arguments* (for example `"meta.captured_at"`) may still contain dots.
diff --git a/advanced-formula-environment/examples/JSON_GET.md b/advanced-formula-environment/examples/JSON_GET.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..af3e2b2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/advanced-formula-environment/examples/JSON_GET.md
@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+### Description
+Lightweight JSON text helpers for Excel 365, built with `LAMBDA` + `REGEXEXTRACT`. Useful for reading flat property values and simple nested objects from JSON pasted into a range.
+
+**Note:** These formulas calculate in the Excel grid when REGEX functions are available. The AFE **debugger** does not yet implement REGEX functions ([Excel-Labs#45](https://github.com/microsoft/Excel-Labs/issues/45)); use Evaluate Formula or helper cells to step them. Function names use underscores (`JSON_GET`), not dots (`JSON.GET`).
+
+`JSON_OBJECT_AT` only supports **flat** objects (`\{[^}]*\}`). Nested braces inside an object will not match.
+
+### Code
+```
+// JSON_TEXT — join a multi-cell paste into one string
+JSON_TEXT=LAMBDA(json_range,
+  LET(
+    joined, TEXTJOIN("", TRUE, json_range),
+    IF(joined = "", NA(), TRIM(joined))
+  )
+);
+
+// JSON_PROP — read a scalar property from an object fragment
+JSON_PROP=LAMBDA(object_text, prop_name,
+  LET(
+    pat, """" & prop_name & """\s*:\s*(""[^""\\]*(?:\\.[^""\\]*)*""|true|false|null|-?\d+(?:\.\d+)?(?:[eE][+-]?\d+)?)",
+    raw, IFERROR(REGEXEXTRACT(object_text, pat, 1), NA()),
+    IF(ISNA(raw),
+      NA(),
+      IF(LEFT(raw, 1) = """",
+        MID(raw, 2, LEN(raw) - 2),
+        IF(raw = "true",
+          TRUE,
+          IF(raw = "false",
+            FALSE,
+            IF(raw = "null", NA(), VALUE(raw))
+          )
+        )
+      )
+    )
+  )
+);
+
+// JSON_OBJECT_AT — extract a flat object by key (no nested braces)
+JSON_OBJECT_AT=LAMBDA(json_text, key_name,
+  LET(
+    pat, """" & key_name & """\s*:\s*(\{[^}]*\})",
+    IFERROR(REGEXEXTRACT(json_text, pat, 1), NA())
+  )
+);
+
+// JSON_GET — dotted path into flat nested objects, e.g. "meta.captured_at"
+JSON_GET=LAMBDA(json_range_or_text, path,
+  LET(
+    text, IF(ISREF(json_range_or_text),
+      JSON_TEXT(json_range_or_text),
+      json_range_or_text
+    ),
+    parts, TEXTSPLIT(path, "."),
+    depth, COLUMNS(parts),
+    IF(depth = 1,
+      JSON_PROP(text, INDEX(parts, 1)),
+      LET(
+        obj, REDUCE(
+          text,
+          DROP(parts, , depth - 1),
+          LAMBDA(acc, key, JSON_OBJECT_AT(acc, key))
+        ),
+        JSON_PROP(obj, INDEX(parts, depth))
+      )
+    )
+  )
+);
+```
+
+### Sheet usage
+```
+=JSON_GET(A1, "meta.captured_at")
+=JSON_PROP(A2, "elapsed_ms")
+```
+
+### Gist link
+_(Paste into an AFE module, or publish your own gist and replace this line.)_