CSV +

Premium CSV processing module for high-performance parsing and generation of delimited datasets in BoxLang+ applications.

The bx-csv module streamlines working with delimited data (CSV/TSV). It emphasizes performance, streaming, and memory efficiency for large datasets.

This module is only available to +/++ subscribers only but can be installed in conjunction with the bx-plus Module with a limited tria.

🚀 Features

• Streaming CSV parsing (low memory footprint)

• Custom delimiters (comma, tab, pipe, etc.)

• Quoted value & escape character handling

• Header row detection & mapping to structs

• Generate CSV from arrays, queries, or iterators

• Optional type coercion (numeric, boolean)

📦 Installation

Via CommandBox

box install bx-csv

Via BoxLang

install-bx-module bx-csv

📥 Parsing Example

csvText = fileRead( expandPath( "users.csv" ) );
records  = csvParse( csvText, hasHeader = true );

for ( r in records ) {
    // r is a struct keyed by header names
    writeOutput( r.name & "<br>" );
}

🌊 Streaming Parse (Conceptual)

stream = fileOpen( expandPath( "large.csv" ), "read" );
parser = csvParserNew( stream, hasHeader = true );

while ( parser.hasNext() ) {
    row = parser.next();
    // process row
}

fileClose( stream );

📤 Generation Example

rows = [
  { id: 1, name: "Alice", active: true },
  { id: 2, name: "Bob", active: false }
];

csvOut = csvGenerate( rows, headers = ["id","name","active" ] );
fileWrite( expandPath( "export.csv" ), csvOut );

⚙ Options Overview

Option	Purpose	Default
delimiter	Field separator	,
quoteChar	Quote character	"
escapeChar	Escape sequence	\\
hasHeader	Treat first row as header	false
coerceTypes	Attempt to cast numeric/boolean values	false

🔐 Entitlement

Requires BoxLang+ subscription. Entitlement failures surface as descriptive exceptions.

🛡 Error Handling

try {
    records = csvParse( csvText, hasHeader = true );
} catch ( e ) {
    writeLog( text = "CSV parse failed: " & e.message, type = "error" );
}

🧪 Performance Tips

• Prefer streaming for files > 5MB

• Disable coercion when raw text needed

• Reuse parser instances when feasible

📎 Related Modules

Spreadsheet +Plus Core

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