Parse jQuery Plugin (jquery.parse)

Robust, efficient CSV parsing (supports custom delimiting characters). Malformed CSV files are especially common, and this parser is an attempt to handle parsing errors more robustly and parse CSV text more efficiently.

jsFIDDLE DEMO

Basic usage

The second argument is optional, but here it is with the defaults:

results = $.parse(csvString, {
	delimiter: ",",
	header: true,
	dynamicTyping: true
});

Config options

Option	Description
delimiter	The delimiting character. Usually just a comma or tab. Can be set to anything anything except " or \n.
header	If true, interpret the first row of parsed data as a header column; fields are returned separately from the data, and data will be returned keyed to its field name. If false, the parser simply returns an array (list) of arrays (rows), including the first column.
dynamicTyping	If true, fields that are strictly numeric will be converted to a number type. If false, each parsed datum is returned as a string.

Output

The output and error handling depends on whether you include a header row with your data. If you have a header, each row must have the same number of fields as the header row, or an error will be produced.

Example input:

Item,SKU,Cost,Quantity
Book,ABC1234,10.95,4
Movie,DEF5678,29.99,3

With header and dynamic typing:

{
  "results": {
    "fields": [
      "Item",
      "SKU",
      "Cost",
      "Quantity"
    ],
    "rows": [
      {
        "Item": "Book",
        "SKU": "ABC1234",
        "Cost": 10.95,
        "Quantity": 4
      },
      {
        "Item": "Movie",
        "SKU": "DEF5678",
        "Cost": 29.99,
        "Quantity": 3
      }
    ]
  },
  "errors": []
}

Without headers and without dynamic typing:

{
  "results": [
    [
      "Item",
      "SKU",
      "Cost",
      "Quantity"
    ],
    [
      "Book",
      "ABC1234",
      "10.95",
      "4"
    ],
    [
      "Movie",
      "DEF5678",
      "29.99",
      "3"
    ]
  ],
  "errors": []
}

Errors

Here is the structure of an error:

{
	message: "",	// Human-readable message
	line: 0,		// Line of original input
	row: 0,			// Row index where error was
	index: 0		// Character index within original input
}

(Assume again that the default config is used.) Suppose the input is malformed:

Item,SKU,Cost,Quantity
Book,"ABC1234,10.95,4
Movie,DEF5678,29.99,3

Notice the stray quotes on the second line. This is the output:

{
  "results": {
    "fields": [
      "Item",
      "SKU",
      "Cost",
      "Quantity"
    ],
    "rows": [
      {
        "Item": "Book",
        "SKU": "ABC1234,10.95,4\nMovie,DEF5678,29.99,3"
      }
    ]
  },
  "errors": [
    {
      "message": "Too few fields; expected 4 fields, parsed 2",
      "line": 2,
      "row": 0,
      "index": 66
    },
    {
      "message": "Unescaped or mismatched quotes",
      "line": 2,
      "row": 0,
      "index": 66
    }
  ]
}

If the header row is disabled, field counting does not occur, because there is no need to key the data to the field name:

{
  "results": [
    [
      "Item",
      "SKU",
      "Cost",
      "Quantity"
    ],
    [
      "Book",
      "ABC1234,10.95,4\nMovie,DEF5678,29.99,3"
    ]
  ],
  "errors": [
    {
      "message": "Unescaped or mismatched quotes",
      "line": 2,
      "row": 1,
      "index": 66
    }
  ]
}

But you will still be notified about the stray quotes, as shown above.

Suppose a field value with a delimiter is not escaped:

Item,SKU,Cost,Quantity
Book,ABC1234,10,95,4
Movie,DEF5678,29.99,3

Again, notice the second line, "10,95" instead of "10.95". This field should be quoted: "10,95" but the parser handles the problem gracefully:

{
  "results": {
    "fields": [
      "Item",
      "SKU",
      "Cost",
      "Quantity"
    ],
    "rows": [
      {
        "Item": "Book",
        "SKU": "ABC1234",
        "Cost": 10,
        "Quantity": 95,
        "__parsed_extra": [
          "4"
        ]
      },
      {
        "Item": "Movie",
        "SKU": "DEF5678",
        "Cost": 29.99,
        "Quantity": 3
      }
    ]
  },
  "errors": [
    {
      "message": "Too many fields; expected 4 fields, found extra value: '4'",
      "line": 2,
      "row": 0,
      "index": 43
    },
    {
      "message": "Too few fields; expected 4 fields, parsed 5",
      "line": 2,
      "row": 0,
      "index": 43
    }
  ]
}

As you can see, any "extra" fields at the end, when using a header row, are simply tacked onto a special field named "__parsed_extra", in the order that the remaining line was parsed.

Is jQuery needed?

Here's a little secret: you don't really need jQuery for this. Just pull out the Parse function embedded in the plugin and use its external interface.

I've packaged this as a jQuery plugin primarily for publicity and convenience.