NAME

Text::xSV::Slurp - Convert xSV data to common data shapes.

VERSION

Version 0.23

SYNOPSIS

Text::xSV::Slurp converts xSV (typically CSV) data to nested data structures of various shapes. It allows both column and row filtering using user defined functions.

This brief example creates an array of hashes from a file, where each array record corresponds to a line of the file, and each line is represented as a hash of header-to-value pairs.

use Text::xSV::Slurp 'xsv_slurp';

my $aoh = xsv_slurp( 'foo.csv' );

## if foo.csv contains:
##
##   uid,name
##   342,tim
##   939,danboo
##
## then $aoh contains:
##
##   [
##     { uid => '342', name => 'tim' },
##     { uid => '939', name => 'danboo' },
##   ]
         

FUNCTIONS

xsv_slurp()

xsv_slurp() converts xSV (typically CSV) data to nested data structures of various shapes. It allows both column and row filtering using user defined functions.

Option summary:

  • file - file name to be opened

  • handle - file handle to be iterated

  • string - string to be parsed

  • shape - target data structure (aoa, aoh, hoa or hoh)

  • col_grep - skip a subset of columns based on user callback

  • row_grep - skip a subset of rows based on user callback

  • key - xSV string or ARRAY used to build the keys of the hoh shape

  • on_store - redefine how the hoh shape should store values

  • on_collide - redefine how the hoh shape should handle key collisions

  • text_csv - option hash for Text::CSV/Text::CSV_XS constructor

The file, handle and string options are mutually exclusive. Only one source parameter may be passed in each call to xsv_slurp(), otherwise a fatal exception will be raised.

The source can also be provided implicitly, without the associated key, and the source type will be guessed by examining the first item in the option list. If the item is a reference type, it is treated as a handle source. If the item contains a newline or carriage return, it is treated as a string source. If the item passes none of the prior tests, it is treated as a file source.

## implicit C<handle> source
my $aoa = xsv_slurp( \*STDIN, shape => 'aoa' );

## implicit C<string> source
my $aoh = xsv_slurp( "h1,h2\n" . "d1,d2\n" );

## implicit C<file> source
my $aoh = xsv_slurp( 'foo.csv' );

The shape parameter supports values of aoa, aoh, hoa or hoh. The default shape is aoh. Each shape affects certain parameters differently (see below).

The text_csv option can be used to control Text::CSV/Text::CSV_XS parsing. The given HASH reference is passed to the Text::CSV constructor. If the text_csv option is undefined, the default Text::CSV constructor is called. For example, to change the separator to a colon, you could do the following:

my $aoh = xsv_slurp( file => 'foo.csv',
                 text_csv => { sep_char => ':' } );

aoa

    example input:

    h1,h2,h3
    l,m,n
    p,q,r

    example data structure:

    [
       [ qw/ h1 h2 h3 / ],
       [ qw/ l  m  n  / ],
       [ qw/ p  q  r  / ],
    ]

    shape specifics:

    • col_grep - passed an ARRAY reference of indexes, should return a list of indexes to be included

    • row_grep - passed an ARRAY reference of values, should return true or false whether the row should be included or not

    full example:

    ## - convert xSV example to an array of arrays
    ## - include only rows containing values matching /[nr]/
    ## - include only the first and last columns 
    
    my $aoa = xsv_slurp( string   => $xsv_data,
                         shape    => 'aoa',
                         col_grep => sub { return @( shift() }[0,-1] },
                         row_grep => sub { return grep /[nr]/, @{ $_[0] } },
                       );
    
    ## $aoa contains:
    ##
    ##   [
    ##      [ 'l',  'n' ],
    ##      [ 'p',  'r' ],
    ##   ]

aoh

    example input:

    h1,h2,h3
    l,m,n
    p,q,r

    example data structure:

    [
       { h1 => 'l', h2 => 'm', h3 => 'n' },
       { h1 => 'p', h2 => 'q', h3 => 'r' },
    ]

    shape specifics:

    • col_grep - passed an ARRAY reference of column names, should return a list of column names to be included

    • row_grep - passed a HASH reference of column name / value pairs, should return true or false whether the row should be included or not

    full example:

    ## - convert xSV example to an array of hashes
    ## - include only rows containing values matching /n/
    ## - include only the h3 column 
    
    my $aoh = xsv_slurp( string   => $xsv_data,
                         shape    => 'aoh',
                         col_grep => sub { return 'h3' },
                         row_grep => sub { return grep /n/, values %{ $_[0] } },
                       );
    
    ## $aoh contains:
    ##
    ##   [
    ##      { h3 => 'n' },
    ##   ]

hoa

    example input:

    h1,h2,h3
    l,m,n
    p,q,r

    example data structure:

    {
       h1 => [ qw/ l p / ],
       h2 => [ qw/ m q / ],
       h3 => [ qw/ n r / ],
    }

    shape specifics:

    • col_grep - passed an ARRAY reference of column names, should return a list of column names to be included

    • row_grep - passed a HASH reference of column name / value pairs, should return true or false whether the row should be included or not

    full example:

    ## - convert xSV example to a hash of arrays
    ## - include only rows containing values matching /n/
    ## - include only the h3 column 
    
    my $hoa = xsv_slurp( string   => $xsv_data,
                         shape    => 'hoa',
                         col_grep => sub { return 'h3' },
                         row_grep => sub { return grep /n/, values %{ $_[0] } },
                       );
    
    ## $hoa contains:
    ##
    ##   {
    ##      h3 => [ qw/ n r / ],
    ##   }

hoh

    example input:

    h1,h2,h3
    l,m,n
    p,q,r

    example data structure (assuming a key of 'h2,h3'):

    {
    m => { n => { h1 => 'l' } },
    q => { r => { h1 => 'p' } },
    }

    shape specifics:

    • key - an xSV string or ARRAY specifying the indexing column names

    • col_grep - passed an ARRAY reference of column names, should return a list of column names to be included

    • row_grep - passed a HASH reference of column name / value pairs, should return true or false whether the row should be included or not

    • on_collide - specify how key collisions should be handled (see "HoH collision handlers")

    full example:

    ## - convert xSV example to a hash of hashes
    ## - index using h1 values
    ## - include only rows containing values matching /n/
    ## - include only the h3 column 
    
    my $hoh = xsv_slurp( string   => $xsv_data,
                         shape    => 'hoh',
                         key      => 'h1',
                         col_grep => sub { return 'h3' },
                         row_grep => sub { return grep /n/, values %{ $_[0] } },
                       );
    
    ## $hoh contains:
    ##
    ##   {
    ##      l => { h3 => 'n' },
    ##      p => { h3 => 'r' },
    ##   }

HoH storage handlers

Using the hoh shape can result in non-unique key combinations. The default action is to simply assign the values to the given slot as they are encountered, resulting in any prior values being lost.

For example, using h1,h2 as the indexing key with the default collision handler:

$xsv_data = <<EOXSV;
h1,h2,h3
1,2,3
1,2,5
EOXSV

$hoh = xsv_slurp( string => $xsv_data,
                  shape  => 'hoh',
                  key    => 'h1,h2'
                );

would result in the initial value in the h3 column being lost. The resulting data structure would only record the 5 value:

{
   1 => { 2 => { h3 => 5 } },  ## 3 sir!
}

Typically this is not very useful. The user probably wanted to aggregate the values in some way. This is where the on_store and on_collide handlers come in, allowing the caller to specify how these assignments should be handled.

The on_store handler is called for each assignment action, while the on_collide handler is only called when an actual collision occurs (i.e., the nested value path for the current line is the same as a prior line).

If instead we wanted to push the values onto an array, we could use the built-in push handler for the on_store event as follows:

$hoh = xsv_slurp( string   => $xsv_data,
                  shape    => 'hoh',
                  key      => 'h1,h2',
                  on_store => 'push',
                );

the resulting HoH, using the same data as above, would instead look like:

{
   1 => { 2 => { h3 => [3,5] } },  ## 3 sir!
}

Or if we wanted to sum the values we could us the sum handler for the on_collide event:

$hoh = xsv_slurp( string     => $xsv_data,
                  shape      => 'hoh',
                  key        => 'h1,h2',
                  on_collide => 'sum',
                );
                

resulting in the summation of the values:

{
   1 => { 2 => { h3 => 8 } },
}

builtin on_store handlers

A number of builtin on_store handlers are provided and can be specified by name.

The example data structures below use the following data.

h1,h2,h3
1,2,3
1,2,5

count

Count the times a key occurs.

{ 1 => { 2 => { h3 => 2 } } }

frequency

Create a frequency count of values.

{ 1 => { 2 => { h3 => { 3 => 1, 5 => 1 } } } }

push

push values onto an array *always*.

{ 1 => { 2 => { h3 => [ 3, 5 ] } } }

unshift

unshift values onto an array *always*.

{ 1 => { 2 => { h3 => [ 5, 3 ] } } }

builtin on_collide handlers

A number of builtin on_collide handlers are provided and can be specified by name.

The example data structures below use the following data.

h1,h2,h3
1,2,3
1,2,5

sum

Sum the values.

{ 1 => { 2 => { h3 => 8 } } }

average

Average the values.

{ 1 => { 2 => { h3 => 4 } } }

push

push values onto an array *only on colliding*.

{ 1 => { 2 => { h3 => [ 3, 5 ] } } }

unshift

unshift values onto an array *only on colliding*.

{ 1 => { 2 => { h3 => [ 5, 3 ] } } }

die

Carp::confess if a collision occurs.

Error: key collision in HoH construction (key-value path was: { 'h1' => '1' }, { 'h2' => '2' })

warn

Carp::cluck if a collision occurs.

Warning: key collision in HoH construction (key-value path was: { 'h1' => '1' }, { 'h2' => '2' })

AUTHOR

Dan Boorstein, <dan at boorstein.net>

TODO

  • add xsv_eruct() to dump shapes to xsv data

  • add weighted-average collide keys and tests

  • document hoh 'on_store/on_collide' custom keys

  • add a recipes/examples section to cover grep and on_collide examples

BUGS

Please report any bugs or feature requests to bug-text-xsv-slurp at rt.cpan.org, or through the web interface at http://rt.cpan.org/NoAuth/ReportBug.html?Queue=Text-xSV-Slurp. I will be notified, and then you'll automatically be notified of progress on your bug as I make changes.

SUPPORT

You can find documentation for this module with the perldoc command.

perldoc Text::xSV::Slurp

You can also look for information at:

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

COPYRIGHT & LICENSE

Copyright 2009 Dan Boorstein.

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of either: the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; or the Artistic License.

See http://dev.perl.org/licenses/ for more information.