DBF

Read DBASE files in Elixir.

At the moment it only supports read.

Usage

For callback-scoped reads, use DBF.with_open/2,3. It closes the DBF and any memo resource after the callback returns or raises:

records =
  DBF.with_open("test/dbf_files/bayarea_zipcodes.dbf", fn db ->
    Enum.to_list(db)
  end)

An open database implements Enumerable. Each element is a {status, values} tuple whose status is :record or :deleted_record.

Use DBF.get/2 for a specific zero-based record index:

DBF.with_open("test/dbf_files/bayarea_zipcodes.dbf", fn db ->
  case DBF.get(db, 2) do
    {:record, row} -> IO.inspect(row)
    {:deleted_record, row} -> IO.inspect(row)
    {:error, error} -> IO.warn(Exception.message(error))
  end
end)

For streaming, suspended enumeration, or longer-lived access, use DBF.open/1,2 and pair every successful open with DBF.close/1.

Exact numeric values

Numeric fields remain floats by default for compatibility. Opt into exact values to receive integers for scale-zero fields and Decimal values for positive scales:

DBF.with_open("table.dbf", [numeric: :exact], fn db ->
  DBF.get(db, 0)
end)

Malformed and blank numeric fields remain nil under this value policy.

Text encoding

Known language drivers for Windows-1251 and Windows-1252 are decoded to UTF-8. Missing or unknown drivers preserve raw bytes by default instead of guessing:

DBF.with_open(
  "table.dbf",
  [encoding: :windows_1251, encoding_errors: :strict],
  fn db -> Enum.to_list(db) end
)

encoding accepts :auto, :raw, :windows_1251, or :windows_1252. encoding_errors accepts :strict, :replace, or :raw. The defaults are :auto and :raw. The selected policy applies consistently to field names, character values, and textual DBT memos; binary values are not decoded as text.

Format compatibility

Support is evidence-based and applies only to the capabilities exercised by the checked-in fixtures. A recognized version byte alone does not imply support.

Verified — representative headers, records, and applicable memo values are covered by local expected values.
Partial — some real files work, but known format features or value semantics remain incomplete.
Planned — fixtures and primary references are recorded, but the format is not accepted yet.
Not planned — outside the scope of the read-only table reader.

Format/profile	Version bytes	Level	Notes
FoxBase	`0x02`	Verified	All fixture records and `C`/unscaled `N` values are checked, including blanks, exact numerics, and deleted-record behavior.
dBASE III without memo	`0x03`	Verified	All zipcode oracle rows, the full schema, legacy value states, exact numerics, Windows-1252 policies, and ambiguous-schema rejection are covered.
dBASE III with DBT memo	`0x83`	Verified	Representative complete records, schema, exact numerics, logical states, multi-block memos, pointers, encoding overrides, and companion validation are covered.
dBASE IV with DBT memo	`0x8B`	Verified	Representative schema and values, text policies, declared block sizing, multi-block memos, and companion validation are covered.
FoxPro and Visual FoxPro tables/FPT	`0x30`, `0x31`, `0x32`, `0xF5`	Planned	Fixtures cover FPT, autoincrement, variable-width fields, null flags, and CP1251 text.
dBASE Level 7-style tables	`0x8C` fixture	Planned	Extended header/descriptor and memo support are not implemented.
DBF writing	—	Not planned	Read-only scope.
NDX/MDX/CDX/DCX index reading	—	Not planned	Tracked separately from table reading.

See test/support/fixture_manifest.ex for per-fixture provenance, encoding, redistribution status, expected-value source, and normative references.