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Briefcase.js

Javascript library to use Google Spreadsheet as a database

What?

Retrieving data from a Google spreadsheet is easy when there are only 2 columns. If the table is more complex, the data isn't formatted in an nice way, and therefore not easily usable. Briefcase makes a call to your Google Spreadsheet and returns clean data; JSON or CSV (and now even XML, just in case someone still uses it).

See examples/getJSON for a quick start.

Note: Using Google Spreadsheet as a database is not recommended for production work; but can be useful for quick prototypes and local applications

Setup

  1. Create your Google spreadsheet(or form, then > View Responses)
  • give a title to your columns, even the first one (this title will be used as a parameter)
  1. Publish it.
  • Click File> Publish to the web
  1. Get the id
  • The key that is in the URL when you publish it (i.e. 1nLQeSvCwV9EorcEvmqDEMz-cyJ6TpJsI)

For more detailed instructions, see this blog post

Use

Include briefcase.js

You can then call either:

  • briefcase.getJSON() > returns a clean JSON array with your data,
  • briefcase.getRawJSON() > returns JSON without modification,
  • briefcase.getCSV() > returns string of comma separated values
  • briefcase.getXML() > returns data in a structured XML.

Each of these functions accepts 2 parameters: options (an Object), and callback (your callback function).

Available options:

  • id: your spreadsheet id // mandatory
  • type: either "spreadsheet" or "form" //default is "spreadsheet", "form" is to be used if your spreadsheet is a Google Form responses spreadsheet.
  • sheetNumber: the sheet to use in your spreadsheet // default is 1
  • leftColumnTitle: the title of the column that contains the list of your items // default is "item", mandatory, cannot be left empty
  • showTimeStamp: if you're using a form, whether to retrieve associated timestamp or not // default is false.
  • download: whether to download a JSON or CSV file from the spreadsheet // default is false. Please note this option is only available in Chrome, Firefox and Opera.

TODO

  • Get rid of jQuery
  • Implement CSV option
  • Add file download option
  • Add XML option (?)
  • Add response when error