csvpack

tools 'n' scripts for working with tabular data packages using comma-separated values (CSV) datafiles in text with meta info (that is, schema, datatypes, ..) in datapackage.json; download, read into and query CSV datafiles with your SQL database (e.g. SQLite, PostgreSQL, ...) of choice and much more

• home :: github.com/csv11/csvpack
• bugs :: github.com/csv11/csvpack/issues
• gem :: rubygems.org/gems/csvpack
• rdoc :: rubydoc.info/gems/csvpack
• forum :: wwwmake

Usage

What's a tabular data package?

Tabular Data Package is a simple structure for publishing and sharing tabular data with the following key features:

• Data is stored in CSV (comma separated values) files
• Metadata about the dataset both general (e.g. title, author) and the specific data files (e.g. schema) is stored in a single JSON file named datapackage.json which follows the Data Package format

(Source: Tabular Data Packages @ Frictionless Data Project • Data Hub.io • Open Knowledge Foundation • Data Protocols.org)

Here's a minimal example of a tabular data package holding two files, that is, data.csv and datapackage.json:

beer/data.csv:

Brewery,City,Name,Abv
Andechser Klosterbrauerei,Andechs,Doppelbock Dunkel,7%
Augustiner Bräu München,München,Edelstoff,5.6%
Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan,Freising,Hefe Weissbier,5.4%
Brauerei Spezial,Bamberg,Rauchbier Märzen,5.1%
Hacker-Pschorr Bräu,München,Münchner Dunkel,5.0%
Staatliches Hofbräuhaus München,München,Hofbräu Oktoberfestbier,6.3%
...

beer/datapackage.json:

{
  "name": "beer",
  "resources": [
    {
      "path": "data.csv",
      "schema": {
        "fields": [{ "name": "Brewery",   "type": "string" },
                   { "name": "City",      "type": "string" },
                   { "name": "Name",      "type": "string" },
                   { "name": "Abv",       "type": "number" }]
      }
    }
  ]
}

Where to find data packages?

For some 100+ real world examples see the Data Packages Listing (Sources, Registry) at the Data Hub.io • Frictionless Data Project website for a start. Tabular data packages include:

and many more

Code, Code, Code - Script Your Data Workflow with Ruby

require 'csvpack'

CsvPack.import(
  's-and-p-500-companies',
  'gdb'
)

Using CsvPack.import will:

1. download all data packages to the ./pack folder

2. (auto-)add all tables to an in-memory SQLite database using SQL create_table commands via ActiveRecord migrations e.g.

create_table :constituents do |t|
  t.string :symbol          # Symbol         (string)
  t.string :name            # Name           (string)
  t.string :sector          # Sector         (string)
end

3. (auto-)import all datasets using SQL inserts e.g.

INSERT INTO constituents
  (symbol,
   name,
   sector)
VALUES  
  ('MMM',
   '3M Company',
   'Industrials')

4. (auto-)add ActiveRecord models for all tables.

So what? Now you can use all the "magic" of ActiveRecord to query the datasets. Example:

pp Constituent.count

# SELECT COUNT(*) FROM "constituents"
# => 496


pp Constituent.first

# SELECT  "constituents".* FROM "constituents" ORDER BY "constituents"."id" ASC LIMIT 1
# => #<Constituent:0x9f8cb78
#         id:     1,
#         symbol: "MMM",
#         name:   "3M Company",
#         sector: "Industrials">


pp Constituent.find_by!( symbol: 'MMM' )

# SELECT  "constituents".*
#         FROM "constituents"
#         WHERE "constituents"."symbol" = "MMM"
#         LIMIT 1
# => #<Constituent:0x9f8cb78
#         id:     1,
#         symbol: "MMM",
#         name:   "3M Company",
#         sector: "Industrials">


pp Constituent.find_by!( name: '3M Company' )

# SELECT  "constituents".*
#          FROM "constituents"
#          WHERE "constituents"."name" = "3M Company"
#          LIMIT 1
# => #<Constituent:0x9f8cb78
#         id:     1,
#         symbol: "MMM",
#         name:   "3M Company",
#         sector: "Industrials">


pp Constituent.where( sector: 'Industrials' ).count

# SELECT COUNT(*) FROM "constituents"
#         WHERE "constituents"."sector" = "Industrials"
# => 63


pp Constituent.where( sector: 'Industrials' ).all

# SELECT "constituents".*
#         FROM "constituents"
#         WHERE "constituents"."sector" = "Industrials"
# => [#<Constituent:0x9f8cb78
#          id:     1,
#          symbol: "MMM",
#          name:   "3M Company",
#          sector: "Industrials">,
#      #<Constituent:0xa2a4180
#          id:     8,
#          symbol: "ADT",
#          name:   "ADT Corp (The)",
#          sector: "Industrials">,...]

and so on

Frequently Asked Questions (F.A.Qs) and Answers

Q: How to dowload a data package ("by hand")?

Use the CsvPack::Downloader class to download a data package to your disk (by default data packages get stored in ./pack).

dl = CsvPack::Downloader.new
dl.fetch( 'language-codes' )
dl.fetch( 's-and-p-500-companies' )
dl.fetch( 'un-locode')

Will result in:

-- pack
   |-- language-codes
   |   |-- data
   |   |   |-- ietf-language-tags.csv
   |   |   |-- language-codes-3b2.csv
   |   |   |-- language-codes-full.csv
   |   |   `-- language-codes.csv
   |   `-- datapackage.json
   |-- s-and-p-500-companies
   |   |-- data
   |   |   `-- constituents.csv
   |   `-- datapackage.json
   `-- un-locode
       |-- data
       |   |-- code-list.csv
       |   |-- country-codes.csv
       |   |-- function-classifiers.csv
       |   |-- status-indicators.csv
       |   `-- subdivision-codes.csv
       `-- datapackage.json

Q: How to add and import a data package ("by hand")?

Use the CsvPack::Pack class to read-in a data package and add and import into an SQL database.

pack = CsvPack::Pack.new( './pack/un-locode/datapackage.json' )
pack.tables.each do |table|
  table.up!      # (auto-) add table  using SQL create_table via ActiveRecord migration
  table.import!  # import all records using SQL inserts
end

Q: How to connect to a different SQL database?

You can connect to any database supported by ActiveRecord. If you do NOT establish a connection in your script - the standard (default fallback) is using an in-memory SQLite3 database.

SQLite

For example, to create an SQLite3 database on disk - lets say mine.db - use in your script (before the CsvPack.import statement):

ActiveRecord::Base.establish_connection( adapter:  'sqlite3',
                                         database: './mine.db' )

PostgreSQL

For example, to connect to a PostgreSQL database use in your script (before the CsvPack.import statement):

require 'pg'       ##  pull-in PostgreSQL (pg) machinery

ActiveRecord::Base.establish_connection( adapter:  'postgresql'
                                         username: 'ruby',
                                         password: 'topsecret',
                                         database: 'database' )

Install

Just install the gem:

$ gem install csvpack

Alternatives

See the Tools and Plugins for working with Data Packages page at the Frictionless Data Project.

License

The csvpack scripts are dedicated to the public domain. Use it as you please with no restrictions whatsoever.

Questions? Comments?

Send them along to the wwwmake forum. Thanks!