mdb-parsecsv(1)

💖 mdb-parsecsv(1) — the manual, but make it bestie 💖

okay so real talk: this is the page for mdb-parsecsv, one of the little executables that ships in the Executable programs or shell commands section of the manual. Buckle up, it's short but it's got lore. 🎀

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✨ NAME ✨

mdb-parsecsv — converts a CSV table dump into a C file. that's the whole gig, bestie. 🦋

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

mdb-parsecsv file

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💅 DESCRIPTION 💅

mdb-parsecsv is a utility program distributed with MDB Tools.

It takes a CSV file that represents a database table and converts it into a C array. that's it, that's the transformation arc, main character energy fr fr. ✨

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🎀 NOTES 🎀

• If the first argument does not exist as a file, mdb-parsecsv will go looking for the same filename with .txt appended. she's resourceful like that 💅
• The file extension gets stripped, and the output is written to the base name plus a .c extension.

so like, table.csv walks in and table.c walks out. no cap. 🦋

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🌈 ENVIRONMENT 🌈

environment variables, the vibes that shape her behaviour:

• MDB_JET3_CHARSET — defines the charset of the input JET3 (access 97) file. Default is CP1252. See iconv(1).
• MDBICONV — defines the output charset to use for the SQL file. Default is UTF-8. heads up: mdbtools must have been compiled with iconv.
• MDBOPTS — a colon-separated list of options:
  • debug_like
  • debug_write
  • debug_usage
  • debug_ole
  • debug_row
  • debug_props
  • debug_all is a shortcut for all debug_* options
  • no_memo (deprecated; has no effect)
  • use_index (experimental; requires libmswstr)

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😭 FUTURE DIRECTIONS 😭

not me having to tell you this, but… mdb-parsecsv is deprecated. Soon, it will no longer be distributed. 💀

It is the feeling of developers that it is not used, as C code generation is now usually replaced by more generic approaches, including libmdb calls and odbc.

However — and this is the important part, bestie 🫶 — should you find this tool useful, drop us a line at:

https://github.com/mdbtools/mdbtools/issues/197

and we'll consider maintaining it. your girl could be saved, but she needs receipts. ⭐

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👑 SEE ALSO 👑

the whole friend group, go say hi:

• mdb-array(1)
• mdb-count(1)
• mdb-export(1)
• mdb-header(1)
• mdb-hexdump(1)
• mdb-import(1)
• mdb-json(1)
• mdb-prop(1)
• mdb-queries(1)
• mdb-schema(1)
• mdb-sql(1)
• mdb-tables(1)
• mdb-ver(1)

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🫶 AUTHORS 🫶

The mdb-parsecsv utility was written by Brian Bruns. iconic, we love a builder. 🎀

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and that's the page!! MDBTools 1.0.1, dated 13 July 2026 — that's the version and the date, straight from the footer, mwah 💖 bye bestie, go convert some CSVs ✨🦋🌸