How can I convert a .csv file into .dbf file using a python script? I found this piece of code online but I'm not certain how reliable it is. Are there any modules out there that have this functionality?
11
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5 Answers
6
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You won't find anything on the net that reads a CSV file and writes a DBF file such that you can just invoke it and supply 2 file-paths. For each DBF field you need to specify the type, size, and (if relevant) number of decimal places.
Some questions:
What software is going to consume the output DBF file?
There is no such thing as "the" (one and only) DBF file format. Do you need dBase III ? dBase 4? 7? Visual FoxPro? etc?
What is the maximum length of text field that you need to write? Do you have non-ASCII text?
Which version of Python?
If your requirements are minimal (dBase III format, no non-ASCII text, text <= 254 bytes long, Python 2.X), then the cookbook recipe that you quoted should do the job.
8
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Using the dbf package you can get a basic csv file with code similar to this:
import dbf
some_table = dbf.from_csv(csvfile='/path/to/file.csv', to_disk=True)
This will create table with the same name and either Character or Memo fields and field names of f0, f1, f2, etc.
For a different filename use the filenameparameter, and if you know your field names you can also use the field_names parameter.
some_table = dbf.from_csv(csvfile='data.csv', filename='mytable',
field_names='name age birth'.split())
Rather basic documentation is available here.
Disclosure: I am the author of this package.
5
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Use the csv library to read your data from the csv file. The third-party dbf library can write a dbf file for you.
Edit: Originally, I listed dbfpy, but the library above seems to be more actively updated.
2
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None that are well-polished, to my knowledge. I have had to work with xBase files many times over the years, and I keep finding myself writing code to do it when I have to do it. I have, somewhere in one of my backups, a pretty functional, pure-Python library to do it, but I don't know precisely where that is.
Fortunately, the xBase file format isn't all that complex. You can find the specification on the Internet, of course. At a glance the module that you linked to looks fine, but of course make copies of any data that you are working with before using it.
A solid, read/write, fully functional xBase library with all the bells and whistles is something that has been on my TODO list for a while... I might even get to it in what is left this year, if I'm lucky... (probably not, though, sadly).
dbfformat looks pretty simple, though; you should be able to check the code you posted yourself. - Katriel