dat-table

A data structure for tables of data.

a table of data, as in a CSV, with methods for operating on the data, as well as formatting as csv.

Idea: could probably refactor this in such a way that it's possible to work with either arrays or with streams.

example

var fs = require('fs')
var Table = require('dat-table')

var table = Table.createTable(fs.readFileSync('data.csv', 'utf8'))


function sum (acc, i) {
  return (acc || 0) + i
}

//sum each column.
var sums = table.reduce(sum)

//sum just one column.
var sum3rdColum = table.reduce(3, sum)

toCSV

convert to csv, and pad for maximum readability. strings are left aligned, and numbers are aligned to the decimal. A column of integers will be right aligned. exponential numbers are alligned to the e in the exponent, and weird "numbers", like Infinity and NaN are aligned like strings.

The table will have left padding, but will not have trailing whitespace.

type           , numbers
small integer  ,         1
big integer    , 200010210
decimal        ,         0.000001
big exponent   ,   1.94123e+21
tiny exponent  ,    1.2313e-41
+ big exponent ,  -1.94123e+21
- tiny exponent,   -1.2313e-41
largish decimal,     12240.123
zero           ,         0
Infinity       , Infinity
-Infinity      , -Infinity
not a number   , NaN

Units

each column can have units. This will be very useful for graphing.

API

Table (headers, opts)

create a table with the given headers. headers must be an array of objects or strings.

var table = new Table(['foo', 'bar', 'baz'])

// or specify units like this

var table = new Table([
      {name: 'Time': units: 'S'},
      {name: 'Length', units: 'm'},
      {name: 'Weight', units: 'kg'}
    ])

//or as strings
var table = new Table(['Time (S)', 'Length (m)', 'Weight (kg)'])
//TODO: convert between different units.

currently supported ops:

{
  name: //name of the table (this is used in Table#join)
}

Table.createTable (data, opts)

create a table instance from a string (it will be parsed as either JSON or CSV) or object. If it's a JS object, it will be interpreted as if it was parsed from JSON.

createTable also supports the same options as Table

Table#getRow(i)

return the ith row (as an array)

Table#addRow(array)

append a row.

Table#units (i?)

return the units of the ith column, if i is not provided, return an array of all the units.

Table#header (i?)

return the ith header or the array of headers.

Table#reduce(i?, reducer, initial)

just like Array#reduce, except that is applied to the table. if i is provided only the ith column is reduced. if i is not provided, each row is reduced, and then an array of values is returned.

Table#each (i?, iter)

iterate over the rows, or if i is provided, iterate over the values in the ith column.

Table#sort (i?, comparator?)

Sort the table by the given column and comparator. If a column is not provided, will sort by the first column.

Table#find(i?, test)

search through rows until test(row, j, table) returns true. if i is provided, then find will only search through a single column.

Table.join (a, b)

(note, a static method on the constructor, not on the instance)

combines a and b into one table, joining on the first column. this is an inner join, and any rows that are not joined will be dropped. each value must also be unique.

Table#filterCols (cols)

return a new table with the just the specified columns. This function can be used to drop or reorder columns.

Table#slice (start, end)

return a new table with a subset of the rows of the previous table. just like [Array#slice]

Table#toJSON()

convert to json.

Table#toCSV()

convert to csv

ideas

This was basically just refactoring parts out of my line-graph module. some things that might be useful:

• convert between different units (should be separate module)
• group by: return another table that is just a subset of this table?
• emit events when cells change?
• listen on ranges of cells/columns?
• address columns by name?
• reorder columns?
• computed columns.

License

MIT