ساخت فایل DBF با پایتون

If you're generating a DBF file for submission to Iran's Social Security Organization (Tamin Ejtemaei), the problem is often not simply whether Python can create a DBF file. These systems are based on a fairly old DBF specification and can be very strict about the file structure, field definitions, encoding, and code page.

One important point from experience: don't assume UTF-8 is the correct encoding just because the data contains Persian. With older DBF-based systems, UTF-8 can actually break compatibility.

For Persian/Arabic data, you may need to use an Arabic-compatible code page such as Windows-1256, depending on what the receiving system expects.

For example:

from dbfread import DBF

table = DBF(
    "insurance.dbf",
    encoding="cp1256"
)

However, if you're creating the DBF rather than reading it, simply setting encoding="cp1256" may not be enough. You need to make sure the DBF writer creates the correct field types, field lengths, code-page information, and byte encoding expected by the Tamin Ejtemaei software.

Also, because these submission systems are quite old, UTF-8 can cause problems. In some cases, the practical solution is to use a custom encoding layer/code page that maps the required Persian and Arabic characters correctly before writing the DBF.

So I'd approach it this way:

1. Check the exact DBF structure required by Tamin Ejtemaei.
2. Match the field names, types, and lengths exactly.
3. Use the expected legacy code page rather than blindly using UTF-8.
4. If the standard Python DBF package doesn't generate a compatible file, implement/customize the encoding layer so both Persian and Arabic characters are represented correctly.
5. Compare the generated DBF at the byte level with a known-good file accepted by the system.

The last step is especially useful with legacy systems: if you have one DBF file that Tamin Ejtemaei accepts, comparing its header, field descriptors, code-page information, and encoded Persian bytes against your generated file will usually reveal what's actually wrong.

Soroosh Morshedi
sorooshmorshedi.com