Read a DBF file's metadata and data with Python and xtopdf

By Vasudev Ram

DBF files (a.k.a. XBASE files), were one of the most widely used data formats for storing structured relational data on PCs, due to the fact that the original products that used DBF files, dBase II and III, were among the most successful database products of their time (the early personal computer era). DBF is probably still very widely used as a format in small and medium-sized desktop-based applications.

DBFReader.py, a program I wrote as part of my xtopdf toolkit for PDF creation using Python, can be used to read the contents of a DBF file, including both the metadata (file and field header information) and the data records, and display them on the screen.

Here is an example invocation of DBFReader.py:

python DBFReader.py test3.dbf | more

This command will read the metadata and data of the specified DBF file and display them on your screen. Here is the output from the above command:

File header :

key: rec_len value: 30
key: ver value: 245
key: hdr_len value: 193
key: last_update value: 02/11/04
key: num_flds value: 5
key: num_recs value: 4

Field headers :

num_flds =  5
       Name |   Type | Length | Decimals
  FIELD1    |       C|       5|       0
  FIELD2    |       N|       5|       0
  FIELD3    |       L|       1|       0
  FIELD4    |       D|       8|       0
  FIELD5    |       M|      10|       0

Data records:

(' ', ['AAAAA', '11111', 'F', '19010101', '          '])
(' ', ['BBBBB', '22222', 'T', '19020202', '          '])
(' ', ['CCCCC', '33333', 'F', '19030303', '          '])
(' ', ['DDDDD', '44444', 'T', '19040404', '          '])

- Vasudev Ram - Python consulting and training - Dancing Bison Enterprises

Contact Page

Share |