How to convert CSV to JSON file having comma separated values in Node.js?

A CSV is a comma-separated value file, denoted by the .csv extension that is used for tabular data storage with values separated by commas. In this article, we will describe how to convert CSV data to JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) without using any third-party npm packages.

Unlike typical conversions, this approach handles scenarios in which values within rows are also comma-separated, which differs from traditional column separation. We will accomplish this by first loading the contents of the CSV file into an array and then splitting it based on a delimiter. Each row of the CSV will be converted into JSON objects, which will then be added to a resulting array.

Each row of the CSV will be converted into JSON objects, which will be added to a resulting array. Finally, this array will be converted to JSON format, producing a JSON output file. This process ensures that CSV data is converted seamlessly into JSON format, accommodating a variety of data structures with no external dependencies.

Approach:

• The default fs npm package can be used to read the CSV files.
• After that, convert the data to a String and then organize it into an array.
• Create an array of headers.

Perform the following for each of the remaining n-1 rows:

• First, create an empty object and fill it with the values from the current row.
• In order to change the delimiter, declare a string str as the current array value and save the resulting string in a new string s.
• If we encounter an opening quote ("), we leave the commas alone; otherwise, we replace them with the pipe "|".
• Continue to add the characters we encounter to Strings.
• Split the string using the pipe delimiter | and save the results in a properties array.
• If the value of a header contains multiple comma-separated data, we store it as an array; otherwise, the value is stored directly.
• Insert the generated object into our result array.

Example:

1. Install the required package:

2. Node.js Script:

Make a new JavaScript file (for example, convert.js), add the following code to read a CSV file, and convert it to JSON.

3. Run the Script:

Output:

 
[
  {
    "id": "1", 
    "name": "Sam Wilson",
    "age": "22",
    "city": "France"
  },
  {
    "id": "2",
    "name": "Jane ",
    "age": "27",
    "city": "London"
  },
  {
    "id": "3",
"name": "John Doe",
    "age": "30",
    "city": "paris"
  }
]

Explanation:

• Import Modules: The script includes the csvtojson library for converting CSV to JSON, the fs module for file system operations, and the path module for working with file paths.
• File Paths: The script specifies the path to both the input CSV file (csvFilePath) and the output JSON file (jsonFilePath).
• Steps to Convert CSV to JSON: The function convertCsvToJson takes a CSV file and converts it to a JSON array using csv().fromFile(csvFilePath).
• Write JSON to File: In order to save the JSON array to a file, use fs.writeFileSync.
• Error Handling: The script includes error handling to capture and log any errors that may occur during the conversion process.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, converting a CSV file to a JSON file in Node.js is a straightforward process that can be accomplished quickly and efficiently using the csvtojson library. A few simple steps can be taken to read a CSV file, parse its comma-separated values, and convert the data to JSON format, which is often more convenient for web applications and APIs. The procedure consists of installing the required package, writing a brief Node.js script to handle the conversion, and running the script to generate the desired JSON output. This approach not only simplifies data exchange between systems but also makes data more usable and accessible in JavaScript environments. Node.js and csvtojson allow developers to easily manage and manipulate data, resulting in smooth and efficient data processing workflows.