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elm-csv

Decode CSV in the most boring way possible. Other CSV libraries have exciting, innovative APIs... not this one! Pretend you're writing a JSON decoder, gimme your data, get on with your life.

import Csv.Decode as Decode exposing (Decoder)


decoder : Decoder ( Int, Int, Int )
decoder =
    Decode.map3 (\r g b -> ( r, g, b ))
        (Decode.column 0 Decode.int)
        (Decode.column 1 Decode.int)
        (Decode.column 2 Decode.int)


csv : String
csv =
    "0,128,128\r\n112,128,144"


Decode.decodeCsv Decode.NoFieldNames decoder csv
--> Ok
-->     [ ( 0, 128, 128 )
-->     , ( 112, 128, 144 )
-->     ]

However, in an effort to avoid a common problem with elm/json ("How do I decode a record with more than 8 fields?") this library also exposes a pipeline-style decoder (inspired by NoRedInk/elm-json-decode-pipeline) for records:

import Csv.Decode as Decode exposing (Decoder)


type alias Pet =
    { id : Int
    , name : String
    , species : String
    , weight : Maybe Float
    }


decoder : Decoder Pet
decoder =
    Decode.into Pet
        |> Decode.pipeline (Decode.field "id" Decode.int)
        |> Decode.pipeline (Decode.field "name" Decode.string)
        |> Decode.pipeline (Decode.field "species" Decode.string)
        |> Decode.pipeline (Decode.field "weight" (Decode.blank Decode.float))


csv : String
csv =
    "id,name,species,weight\r\n1,Atlas,cat,14.5\r\n2,Pippi,dog,"


Decode.decodeCsv Decode.FieldNamesFromFirstRow decoder csv
--> Ok
-->     [ { id = 1, name = "Atlas", species = "cat", weight = Just 14.5 }
-->     , { id = 2, name = "Pippi", species = "dog", weight = Nothing }
-->     ]

FAQ

Can this do TSVs too? What about European-style CSVs that use semicolon instead of comma?

Yes to both! Use decodeCustom. It takes a field and row separator string, which can be whatever you need.

Aren't there like (checks) 8 other CSV libraries already?

Yes, there are! While I appreciate the hard work that other people have put into those, there are a couple problems:

First, you need to put together multiple libraries to successfully parse CSV. Before this package was published, you had to pick one package for parsing to List (List String) and another to decode from that into something you actually cared about. Props to those authors for making their hard work available, of course, but this situation bugs me!

I don't want to have to pick different libraries for parsing and converting. I just want it to work like elm/json where I write a decoder, give the package a string, and handle a Result. This should not require so much thought!

The second thing, and the one that prompted me to publish this package, is that none of the libraries available at the time implemented andThen. Sure, you can use a Result to do whatever you like, but there's not a good way to make a decoding decision for one field dependent on another.

Contributing

Hello! I'm so glad that you're interested in contributing to elm-csv! Just so you know, I consider this library "done". Unless something major changes in either the CSV standard or Elm, major changes are unlikely. If you want to make a case for new decoder functions (or whatever) being added to the package feel free to do so (in an issue, not a PR!), but be aware the bar is fairly high for new inclusions.

That said, I'll be publishing upgrades to track with new versions of Elm, and bug fixes as needed. I always welcome help with those, and with documentation improvements!

Still here? Ok, let's get set up. This project uses Nix to manage versions (but just need a nix installation, not NixOS, so this will work on macOS.) Install that, then run nix-shell to get into a development environment.

Things I'd appreciate help with:

  • Testing the parser on many kinds of CSV and TSV data. If you find that the parser has incorrectly interpreted some data you have, please open an issue. It would be very helpful if you could include a sample of the input that's giving you problems, the versions of the software used to produce the sample, and the locale settings on your computer.

  • Feedback on speed. Please let me know if you find out that parsing/decoding has become a bottleneck in your application. Our parser is fairly quick (see benchmarking in the source) but we can always go faster.

  • Docs. Always docs. Forever docs.

Climate Action

I want my open-source work to support projects addressing the climate crisis (for example, projects in clean energy, public transit, reforestation, or sustainable agriculture.) If you are working on such a project, and find a bug or missing feature in any of my libraries, please let me know and I will treat your issue as high priority. I'd also be happy to support such projects in other ways. In particular, I've worked with Elm for a long time and would be happy to advise on your implementation.

License

elm-csv is licensed under the BSD 3-Clause license, located at LICENSE.