What is DBF File
Introduction
A DBF is a database file widely supported by a number of database applications. It was designed by dBase, only for its own use. With the major developmental growth, DBF format is now being used in a number of other database applications. It stores the data in multiple records where each field is stored in a form of array.
Structure of DBF File
A DBF file contains two sections:
#1 Header Record - The header part indicates Meta information about DBF file such as:
- DBF File Type
- Last Update
- Number of records
- Table flags
#2 Data Record - The data record filed contains the actual text of database fields in the form of array.
Application Category
DBF files lie in the category of Database File since they are meant to store the data being entered in the database applications.
Applications Supported
The DBF files are supported by a number of applications depending on the type of operating system being used to open the file.
Some of the applications, which support DBF file on Windows, include:
- dBase
- MS Access 2016
- MS Excel 2016
- Microsoft Visual FoxPro
- Apache Open Office
Mac users need to use following applications to open DBF files:
- Planamesa NeoOffice
- Apache OpenOffice
- GTK DBF Editor
DBF files can be viewed in Linux using these programs:
- Apache Openoffice
- GTK DBF Editor
- Multisoft Flagship
MIME Type supported in DBF file
The DBF file belongs to following MIME type:
- application/dbase
- application/x-dbase
- application/dbf
- application/x-dbf
- zz-application
File Signature of DBF File
The file signature associated with DBF file is 4F 50 4C 44 61 74 61 62
Issues Associated With DBF
Some of the commonly faced problems while working with DBF include:
#1 File Corruption - The DBF files are always under high risk of being corrupted or damaged due to network or workstation interruptions. The corrupted DBF files leads to loss of data, which is a major issue for user.
#2 Security - The DBF files do not have any user specific access grants associated with them. Therefore, anyone can access the files and misuse the confidential data of an organization. The lack of password protection or permission grant makes the files exposed to misuse.
#3 Data integrity - The data integrity is an important factor for every file. However, DBF files can be easily manipulated by the applications and do not maintain data integrity any level.
#4 No Remote Access - These database files cannot be remotely accessed. This makes it difficult to have an access to these files from distant locations.
#5 Size Limitation - DBF files can store maximum of 2GB data. It becomes difficult for organizations to store their bulk-sized data within such limited sized files.
Conclusion
The article has been aimed to discuss the concept of DBF files on different Operating Systems. The various attributes of DBF such as file type, MIME type, and signature have been explained in the segment. However, these files tend to pose some limitations on certain parameters. The article has tried to look into such issues also.