csvjson

CSV <3 JSON Parser / Reader

csvjson library / gem - read tabular data in the CSV <3 JSON format, that is, comma-separated values CSV (line-by-line) records with javascript object notation (JSON) encoding rules

• home :: github.com/csvreader/csvjson
• bugs :: github.com/csvreader/csvjson/issues
• gem :: rubygems.org/gems/csvjson
• rdoc :: rubydoc.info/gems/csvjson
• forum :: wwwmake

What's CSV <3 JSON?

CSV <3 JSON is a Comma-Separated Values (CSV) variant / format / dialect where the line-by-line records follow the JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) encoding rules. It's a modern (simple) tabular data format that includes arrays, numbers, booleans, nulls, nested structures, comments and more. Example:

# "Vanilla" CSV <3 JSON

1,"John","12 Totem Rd. Aspen",true
2,"Bob",null,false
3,"Sue","Bigsby, 345 Carnival, WA 23009",false

or

# CSV <3 JSON with array values

1,"directions",["north","south","east","west"]
2,"colors",["red","green","blue"]
3,"drinks",["soda","water","tea","coffe"]
4,"spells",[]

For more see the official CSV <3 JSON Format documentation »

Usage

txt <<=TXT
# "Vanilla" CSV <3 JSON

1,"John","12 Totem Rd. Aspen",true
2,"Bob",null,false
3,"Sue","Bigsby, 345 Carnival, WA 23009",false
TXT

records = CsvJson.parse( txt )     ## or CSV_JSON.parse or CSVJSON.parse
pp records
# =>  [[1,"John","12 Totem Rd. Aspen",true],
#      [2,"Bob",nil,false],
#      [3,"Sue","Bigsby, 345 Carnival, WA 23009",false]]

# -or-

records = CsvJson.read( "values.json.csv" )   ## or CSV_JSON.read or CSVJSON.read
pp records
# =>  [[1,"John","12 Totem Rd. Aspen",true],
#      [2,"Bob",nil,false],
#      [3,"Sue","Bigsby, 345 Carnival, WA 23009",false]]

# -or-

CsvJson.foreach( "values.json.csv" ) do |rec|   ## or CSV_JSON.foreach or CSVJSON.foreach
  pp rec
end
# => [1,"John","12 Totem Rd. Aspen",true]
# => [2,"Bob",nil,false]
# => [3,"Sue","Bigsby, 345 Carnival, WA 23009",false]

What about Enumerable?

Yes, the reader / parser includes Enumerable and runs on each. Use new or open without a block to get the enumerator (iterator). Example:

csv = CsvJson.new( "1,2,3" )   ## or CSV_JSON.new or CSVJSON.new
it  = csv.to_enum
pp it.next  
# => [1,2,3]

# -or-

csv = CsvJson.open( "values.json.csv" )  ## or CSV_JSON.open or CSVJSON.open
it  = csv.to_enum
pp it.next
# => [1,"John","12 Totem Rd. Aspen",true]
pp it.next
# => [2,"Bob",nil,false]

What about headers?

Yes, you can. Use the CsvHash from the csvreader library / gem if the first line is a header (or if missing pass in the headers as an array) and you want your records as hashes instead of arrays of strings. Example:

txt <<=TXT
"id","name","address","regular"
1,"John","12 Totem Rd. Aspen",true
2,"Bob",null,false
3,"Sue","Bigsby, 345 Carnival, WA 23009",false
TXT

records = CsvHash.json.parse( txt )
pp records

# => [{"id":      1,
#      "name":    "John",
#      "address": "12 Totem Rd. Aspen",
#      "regular": true},
#     {"id":      2,
#      "name":    "Bob",
#      "address": null,
#      "regular": false},
#    ... ]

For more see the official CsvHash documentation in the csvreader library / gem »

License

The csvjson scripts are dedicated to the public domain. Use it as you please with no restrictions whatsoever.

Questions? Comments?

Send them along to the wwwmake forum. Thanks!