negativo / csv.js

Simple CSV parsing and encoding.

CSV.js

Simple CSV parsing/encoding in JavaScript.

Compatible with browsers, AMD, and NodeJS.

Installation

Download csv.min.js and reference to it using your preferred method.

If you use Bower, or npm, install the comma-separated-values package.

Instantiation

Create a CSV instance by running var csv = new CSV();. You can supply options with the format var csv = new CSV({ option: value });.

Available options:

{
  delimiter: string          // The character(s) separating values in a row. Defaults to ','.
  header: boolean or array   // Whether or not the first row of the CSV contains the fields. Defaults to false.
  replace: boolean           // Replace the first row of data with the supplied header (true), or not (false). Defaults to false.
  stream: function           // A function to call after every row is parsed. Defaults to undefined.
  done: function             // A function to call after all rows are parsed. Defaults to undefined.
  detailed: boolean          // Return an object with details (true) or an array of the data (false). Defaults to false.
}

You can update an option's value any time after instantiation with csv.set(option, value).

Parsing

If the CSV contains headers, csv.parse() parse will return objects with properly-set properties.

With the following example:

var csv = new CSV({ header: true });
csv.parse('\
  "year","age","status","sex","people"\r\n\
  1850,20,0,1,1017281\r\n\
  1850,20,0,2,1003841\r\n\
  1850,25,0,1,862547\r\n\
  1850,25,0,2,799482\r\n\
  1850,30,0,1,730638\r\n\
  1850,30,0,2,639636\r\n\
  1850,35,0,1,588487\r\n\
  1850,35,0,2,505012\r\n\
  1850,40,0,1,475911\r\n\
  1850,40,0,2,428185\r\n\
');

Optionally, supplying your own header field:

var csv = new CSV({ header: ["year","age","status","sex","people"] });
csv.parse('\
  1850,20,0,1,1017281\r\n\
  1850,20,0,2,1003841\r\n\
  1850,25,0,1,862547\r\n\
  1850,25,0,2,799482\r\n\
  1850,30,0,1,730638\r\n\
  1850,30,0,2,639636\r\n\
  1850,35,0,1,588487\r\n\
  1850,35,0,2,505012\r\n\
  1850,40,0,1,475911\r\n\
  1850,40,0,2,428185\r\n\
');

The response would be:

[
  {Year: 1850, Age: 20, Marital Status: 0, Sex: 1, People: 1017281},
  {Year: 1850, Age: 20, Marital Status: 0, Sex: 2, People: 1003841},
  ...
]

If header is set to false, the response will contain arrays as opposed to objects.

Encoding

Pass an array of objects to csv.encode() to get CSV, sans headers. Run csv.set("header", true) to add headers.

Pass an array of arrays to csv.encode() to get CSV, sans headers. Run csv.set("header", headerValues), where headerValues is an array with your own header values.

Events

If memory is an issue, you can have CSV.js call a function after each row is parsed (or encoded) by setting stream to a function that receives an object or an array, as appropriate.

When all the CSV has been parsed (or encoded), CSV.js will call done, and supply the full response. Note that the response will be empty if stream has been set.