📊 SDX Parser

A beautifully simple, human-readable alternative to JSON for tabular data.

✨ Why SDX?

Stop writing verbose JSON for tabular data. SDX (Simple Data eXchange) makes your data files readable, maintainable, and elegant.

The Problem with JSON

{
  "users": [
    { "id": 1, "name": "Alice", "email": "[email protected]", "age": 28 },
    { "id": 2, "name": "Bob", "email": "[email protected]", "age": 32 },
    { "id": 3, "name": "Charlie", "email": "[email protected]", "age": 25 }
  ]
}

❌ Repetitive keys
❌ Hard to scan visually
❌ Lots of braces and quotes
❌ Difficult to edit manually

The SDX Solution

users:
id, name, email, age
1, Alice, [email protected], 28
2, Bob, [email protected], 32
3, Charlie, [email protected], 25

✅ Clean and minimal
✅ Easy to read and edit
✅ Perfect for config files
✅ Converts to JSON automatically

🚀 Installation

npm install @sewakgautam/sdx

📖 Quick Start

Parse SDX String

const { parseSGX } = require('@sewakgautam/sdx');

const data = `
users:
id, name, email
1, Alice, [email protected]
2, Bob, [email protected]
`;

const result = parseSGX(data);
console.log(result);

Output:

{
  users: [
    { id: 1, name: 'Alice', email: '[email protected]' },
    { id: 2, name: 'Bob', email: '[email protected]' }
  ]
}

Load SDX File

const { loadSGX } = require('@sewakgautam/sdx');

// Load from file
const data = loadSGX('./data/users.sgx');
console.log(data.users[0].name); // "Alice"

📝 Format Specification

SDX format has just three simple rules:

1. Line 1: Object name + colon (:)
2. Line 2: Comma-separated headers
3. Line 3+: Comma-separated values

Example: Products

products:
id, name, price, inStock, category
101, Laptop, 999.99, 50, Electronics
102, Mouse, 24.99, 150, Electronics
103, Desk, 299.00, 30, Furniture

🎯 Features

| Feature | Description | |---------|-------------| | Auto Type Conversion | Numbers are automatically converted from strings | | Whitespace Trimming | Spaces around values are cleaned up | | Simple Syntax | No complex escaping or special characters | | Lightweight | Zero dependencies, minimal footprint | | Node.js Ready | Works seamlessly with Node.js file system |

🔧 API Reference

parseSGX(text)

Parses an SDX format string into a JavaScript object.

Parameters:

• text (string) - The SDX format string

Returns: Object - Parsed data object

Throws: Error - If format is invalid

Example:

const result = parseSGX('users:\nid, name\n1, Alice');

loadSGX(filePath)

Loads and parses an SDX file from the filesystem.

Parameters:

• filePath (string) - Path to the .sgx file

Returns: Object - Parsed data object

Throws: Error - If file not found or format is invalid

Example:

const data = loadSGX('./config/settings.sgx');

💡 Use Cases

Configuration Files

database:
host, port, database, username
localhost, 5432, myapp_db, admin

Test Data

testCases:
id, input, expected, description
1, hello, HELLO, Convert to uppercase
2, world, WORLD, Another uppercase test

CSV Alternative

SDX is perfect when you need labeled data but CSV feels too generic:

employees:
employeeId, firstName, lastName, department, salary
E001, John, Doe, Engineering, 95000
E002, Jane, Smith, Marketing, 87000

🎨 Real-World Examples

E-commerce Products

products:
sku, name, price, stock, rating
SKU001, Wireless Mouse, 29.99, 150, 4.5
SKU002, USB Keyboard, 49.99, 75, 4.8
SKU003, Monitor Stand, 39.99, 50, 4.2

API Endpoints Config

endpoints:
name, method, path, rateLimit
getUsers, GET, /api/users, 100
createUser, POST, /api/users, 50
updateUser, PUT, /api/users/:id, 50

Game High Scores

highScores:
rank, player, score, date
1, ProGamer123, 99999, 2025-11-15
2, SpeedRunner, 85000, 2025-11-14
3, CasualPlayer, 72000, 2025-11-13

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Feel free to:

• 🐛 Report bugs
• 💡 Suggest new features
• 🔧 Submit pull requests

📄 License

MIT © Sewak Gautam

🌟 Show Your Support

If you find SDX Parser useful, give it a ⭐️ on GitHub!

Made with ❤️ by Sewak Gautam