Read and write .dbf (dBase III & Visual FoxPro) files in Node.js
npm install dbffileC (string)
N (numeric)
F (float)
Y (currency)
I (integer)
L (logical)
D (date)
T (datetime)
B (double)
M (memo) Note: memo support is experimental/partial, with the following limitations:
'ISO-8859-1' (also known as latin 1)
DBFFile.open(, {encoding: 'EUC-JP'})
DBFFile.open(, {encoding: {default: 'latin1', FIELD_XYZ: 'EUC-JP'}})
npm install dbffile or yarn add dbffile
javascript
import {DBFFile} from 'dbffile';
async function iterativeRead() {
let dbf = await DBFFile.open('');
console.log( DBF file contains ${dbf.recordCount} records.);
console.log(Field names: ${dbf.fields.map(f => f.name).join(', ')});
for await (const record of dbf) console.log(record);
}
`
$3
`javascript
import {DBFFile} from 'dbffile';
async function batchRead() {
let dbf = await DBFFile.open('');
console.log( DBF file contains ${dbf.recordCount} records.);
console.log(Field names: ${dbf.fields.map(f => f.name).join(', ')});
let records = await dbf.readRecords(100); // batch-reads up to 100 records, returned as an array
for (let record of records) console.log(record);
}
`
$3
`javascript
import {DBFFile} from 'dbffile';
async function batchWrite() {
let fieldDescriptors = [
{ name: 'fname', type: 'C', size: 255 },
{ name: 'lname', type: 'C', size: 255 }
];
let records = [
{ fname: 'Joe', lname: 'Bloggs' },
{ fname: 'Mary', lname: 'Smith' }
];
let dbf = await DBFFile.create('', fieldDescriptors);
console.log('DBF file created.');
await dbf.appendRecords(records);
console.log( ${records.length} records added.);
}
`
$3
Not all versions and variants of .dbf file are supported by this library. Normally, when an unsupported file version or
field type is encountered, an error is reported and reading halts immediately. This has been a problem for users who
just want to recover data from old .dbf files, and would rather not write a PR or wait for one that adds the missing
file/field support.
A more forgiving approach to reading .dbf files is now provided by passing the option {readMode: 'loose'} to the
DBFFile.open(...) function. In this mode, unrecognised file versions, unsupported field types, and missing memo files
are all tolerated. Unsupported/missing field types are still present in the fields field descriptors, but will be missing in
the record data returned by the readRecords(...) method.
$3
The module exports the DBFFile class, which has the following shape:
`typescript
/* Represents a DBF file. /
class DBFFile {
/* Opens an existing DBF file. /
static open(path: string, options?: OpenOptions): Promise;
/* Creates a new DBF file with no records. /
static create(path: string, fields: FieldDescriptor[], options?: CreateOptions): Promise;
/* Full path to the DBF file. /
path: string;
/* Total number of records in the DBF file (NB: includes deleted records). /
recordCount: number;
/* Date of last update as recorded in the DBF file header. /
dateOfLastUpdate: Date;
/* Metadata for all fields defined in the DBF file. /
fields: FieldDescriptor[];
/* Reads a subset of records from this DBF file. The current read position is remembered between calls. /
readRecords(maxCount?: number): Promise;
/* Appends the specified records to this DBF file. /
appendRecords(records: object[]): Promise;
/* Iterates over each record in this DBF file. /
[Symbol.asyncIterator](): AsyncGenerator DBFFile.open. /
interface OpenOptions {
/**
* The behavior to adopt when unsupported file versions or field types are encountered. The following values are
* supported, with the default being 'strict':
* - 'strict': when an unsupported file version or field type is encountered, stop reading the file immediately and
* issue a descriptive error.
* - 'loose': ignore unrecognised file versions, unsupported field types, and missing memo files and attempt to
* continue reading the file. Any unsupported field types encountered will be present in field descriptors but
* missing from read records.
*/
readMode?: 'strict' | 'loose'
/* The character encoding(s) to use when reading the DBF file. Defaults to ISO-8859-1. /
encoding?: Encoding;
/**
* Indicates whether deleted records should be included in results when reading records. Defaults to false.
* Deleted records have the property [DELETED]: true, using the DELETED symbol exported from this library.
*/
includeDeletedRecords?: boolean;
}
/* Options that may be passed to DBFFile.create. /
interface CreateOptions {
/* The file version to create. Currently versions 0x03, 0x83, 0x8b and 0x30 are supported. Defaults to 0x03. /
fileVersion?: FileVersion;
/* The character encoding(s) to use when writing the DBF file. Defaults to ISO-8859-1. /
encoding?: Encoding;
}
/**
* Character encoding. Either a string, which applies to all fields, or an object whose keys are field names and
* whose values are encodings. If given as an object, field keys are all optional, but a 'default' key is required.
* Valid encodings may be found here: https://github.com/ashtuchkin/iconv-lite/wiki/Supported-Encodings
*/
type Encoding = string | {default: string, [fieldName: string]: string};
``