dbfrs

Minimalist DBF reader and writer for Python 3 written in Rust. The state of DBF libraries in 2024 is abysmal, yet still companies rely on this format. This library aims to provide a simple, easy-to-use interface for reading and writing DBF files.

Most libraries are either outdated, have a lot of dependencies, are too complex, or a really slow. Most of them offer only reading capabilities. The main focus of dbfrs is to be minimalistic and fast.

Installation

pip install dbfrs

Usage

Reading a file

import dbfrs
import pandas as pd

filename = 'file.dbf'

records = dbfrs.load_dbf(filename)

Reading a file into a DataFrame, only loading specific fields

import dbfrs
import pandas as pd

filename = 'file.dbf'

fields = dbfrs.get_dbf_fields(filename)
records = dbfrs.load_dbf(filename, fields)
df = pd.DataFrame(records, columns=fields)

Writing a DataFrame to a file

import dbfrs
import pandas as pd

filename = 'file.dbf'
df = pd.DataFrame({'field1': [1, 2, 3], 'field2': ['a', 'b', 'c']})

fields = dbfrs.Fields()
fields.add_numeric_field('field1', 'N', 10, 0)
fields.add_character_field('field2', 'C')

records = [tuple(x) for x in df.values.tolist()]

dbfrs.write_dbf(filename, fields, records)

Development

Building the Rust library

maturin build

Publish a new version

maturin publish