datasource.readFile ^v2.7.191

Reads data from a file in the MODLR file system. Supports multiple output formats and automatic character encoding detection.

datasource.readFile(filePath, readAs, encoding)

Parameters

• filePath - The name and file path of the file in the MODLR file system to read. File path can be found in the filesystem page.
• readAs (optional) - The format to return the file contents as. Defaults to "string". Supported values:
  • "string" - Returns the entire file as a single string
  • "lines" - Returns the file as an array of strings, one per line
  • "json" - Parses the file as JSON and returns an object
  • "xml" - Parses the file as XML and returns an object
  • "base64" - Returns the file contents as a Base64 encoded string
• encoding (optional) - The character encoding to use when reading the file. If omitted, empty, or set to "auto", the encoding is automatically detected. Otherwise, specify a valid charset name (e.g., "UTF-8", "ISO-8859-1").

Returns

• Returns the file contents in the format specified by readAs, or false if the file path is invalid.

Example

// Read file as a string (default)
let text = datasource.readFile("input/report.txt");

// Read file as an array of lines
let lines = datasource.readFile("input/data.txt", "lines");
for (let line of lines) {
    console.log(line);
}

// Read and parse a JSON file
let config = datasource.readFile("input/config.json", "json");
console.log(config.name);

// Read and parse an XML file
let xmlData = datasource.readFile("input/data.xml", "xml");

// Read a binary file as Base64
let base64 = datasource.readFile("input/image.png", "base64");

// Read a file with specific encoding
let legacyData = datasource.readFile("input/legacy.txt", "string", "ISO-8859-1");