PHP read .DBF file in script

Question

I have a large DBF file that I would simply like to read like a .csv or .txt file by converting it into an array.

$file = file_get_contents('data.dbf');

Doing this just imports it as one huge blob of text. I tried

explode("\n\r", $file);

but that doesn't seem to work either as it treats it like one giant string with no line breaks. Excel btw reads it perfectly.

I don't have the dbase extension installed (not even sure if I can do that easily). Is there any other way I can read it properly line-by-line?

Try file() instead of file_get_contents(). This creates an array with each element being one line of the file. php.net/manual/en/function.file.php — ckimbrell
– ckimbrell, Commented Oct 6, 2016 at 17:48

klimser · Accepted Answer · 2017-12-08 15:28:36Z

1

It's better to use dBase PECL-extension for DBF-files, it allows you to read them properly and separate fields into array.
If you still want to use file() take into account a note from manual:

If PHP is not properly recognizing the line endings when reading files either on or created by a Macintosh computer, enabling the auto_detect_line_endings run-time configuration option may help resolve the problem.

answered Dec 8, 2017 at 15:28

klimser

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