A lib to read dbf files version 3.
The structure of a dBASE III database file is composed of a header and data records. The layout is given below.
+---------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
| BYTE | CONTENTS | MEANING |
+---------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
| 0 | 1 byte | dBASE III version number |
| | | (03H without a .DBT file) |
| | | (83H with a .DBT file) |
+---------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
| 1-3 | 3 bytes | date of last update |
| | | (YY MM DD) in binary format |
+---------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
| 4-7 | 32 bit number | number of records in data file |
+---------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
| 8-9 | 16 bit number | length of header structure |
+---------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
| 10-11 | 16 bit number | length of the record |
+---------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
| 12-31 | 20 bytes | reserved bytes (version 1.00) |
+---------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
| 32-n | 32 bytes each | field descriptor array |
| | | (see below) | --+
+---------+-------------------+---------------------------------+ |
| n+1 | 1 byte | 0DH as the field terminator | |
+---------+-------------------+---------------------------------+ |
|
|
A FIELD DESCRIPTOR: <------------------------------------------+
+---------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
| BYTE | CONTENTS | MEANING |
+---------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
| 0-10 | 11 bytes | field name in ASCII zero-filled |
+---------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
| 11 | 1 byte | field type in ASCII |
| | | (C N L D or M) |
+---------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
| 12-15 | 32 bit number | field data address |
| | | (address is set in memory) |
+---------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
| 16 | 1 byte | field length in binary |
+---------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
| 17 | 1 byte | field decimal count in binary |
+---------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
| 18-31 | 14 bytes | reserved bytes (version 1.00) |
+---------+-------------------+---------------------------------+
-
Data records are preceeded by one byte that is a space (20H) if the record is not deleted and an asterisk (2AH) if it is deleted.
-
Data fields are packed into records with no field separators or record terminators.
-
Data types are stored in ASCII format as follows:
DATA TYPE DATA RECORD STORAGE --------- -------------------------------------------- Character (ASCII characters) Numeric - . 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Logical ? Y y N n T t F f (? when not initialized) Memo (10 digits representing a .DBT block number) Date (8 digits in YYYYMMDD format, such as 19840704 for July 4, 1984) -----------------------------------------------------------
Dbase memo files seem to be like their own kind of fun. Initial attempt at providing support for them has been hacked together for dBase III+ versions. dBase IV are said to be using a different formating, with per-block block size and type.