Would the csv module be a good place to add a DBF reader and writer? Dbase's dbf file format is one of the oldest, simplest and more common database interchange formats. It can be a good alternative to CSV as a means of sharing data with pre-existing, non-python apps.
On the plus side, it has a precise spec, can preserve numeric and date types, has guaranteed round-trip equivalence, and does not have weird escape rules. On the minus side, strings are limited to ASCII without NULs and the fields are fixed length. I've posted a draft on ASPN. It interoperates well with the rest of the CSV module because it also accepts/returns a list of fieldnames and a sequence of records. http://aspn.activestate.com/ASPN/Cookbook/Python/Recipe/362715 Raymond Hettinger _______________________________________________ Python-Dev mailing list Python-Dev@python.org http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-dev Unsubscribe: http://mail.python.org/mailman/options/python-dev/archive%40mail-archive.com
