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Description
dbfpy is a python-only
module for reading and writing DBF-files.
It was created by Jeff Kunce. I use it in an
application and now maintain this module.
What is dbfpy?
dbfpy can read and write
simple DBF-files. The DBF-format
was developed about 30 years ago and was used by a number of simple database
applications (dBase, Foxpro, Clipper, ...). The basic datatypes numbers,
short text, and dates are available. Many different extensions have been
used; dbfpy can read and write only simple DBF-files.
What is it for?
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The most important use is reading
old DBF-files created by other programs.
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DBF-files can be imported by
most tabular data handling programs like Excel, Access, etc. If you want
to generate tabular data for import
into these programs from a python-script
dbfpy would be an option.
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Some rather recent programs still
use dbf for data storage. The GIS-application ArcView
is one of them.
Do not use dbfpy ...
... if you need to store data
for internal use in a python program.
dbfpy does not provide any
of the features of a modern database application. Use a database system
like PostgreSQL,
Oracle
or
MySQL for everyday data storage.
Use the python modul shelf if you want to go lightweight.
Example
demo1() is a simple python
function, that lists the content of the DBF-file county.dbf.
from dbf import *
def demo1():
dbf1 = Dbf()
dbf1.openFile('county.dbf', readOnly=1)
dbf1.reportOn()
print 'sample records:'
for i1 in range(min(3,len(dbf1))):
rec = dbf1[i1]
for fldName in dbf1.fieldNames():
print '%s:\t %s'%(fldName, rec[fldName])
print
dbf1.close()
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demo2() creates a file
tst.dbf and appends some records to it.
from dbf import *
def demo2():
dbfn=dbf_new()
dbfn.add_field("name",'C',80)
dbfn.add_field("price",'N',10,2)
dbfn.add_field("date",'D',8)
dbfn.write("tst.dbf")
# test new dbf
print "*** created tst.dbf: ***"
dbft = Dbf()
dbft.openFile('tst.dbf', readOnly=0)
dbft.reportOn()
# add a record
rec=DbfRecord(dbft)
rec['name']='something'
rec['price']=10.5
rec['date']=(2000,1,12)
rec.store()
# add another record
rec=DbfRecord(dbft)
rec['name']='foo and bar'
rec['price']=12234
rec['date']=(1992,7,15)
rec.store()
dbft.close()
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Download
The newest version of dbfpy
is here.
Contact
Please send bug reports, patches
and questions to
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