Convert FB2 to TSV

Why Convert FB2 to TSV?

Converting FB2 ebooks to TSV (Tab-Separated Values) format is useful when you need to extract structured data from ebooks for analysis, database imports, or spreadsheet processing. TSV's simple tabular format makes it easy to analyze book content, metadata, and structure using data analysis tools, spreadsheets, or programming languages.

FB2 (FictionBook 2) is an XML-based ebook format extremely popular in Russia and Eastern Europe. It excels at storing fiction with rich metadata including author information, cover images, annotations, and structured chapters. However, when you need to analyze book data, extract metadata for cataloging, or process content for text analysis, a structured data format like TSV is more appropriate.

TSV provides a simple tabular representation where each element of the book (metadata, chapters, paragraphs) becomes a row with tab-separated columns. This makes it trivial to import into databases, analyze in spreadsheets, or process with data analysis tools like Python pandas, R, or SQL. The tab delimiter is preferred over commas because book text often contains commas, reducing the need for escaping.

Key Benefits of Converting FB2 to TSV:

• Data Analysis: Analyze book structure and content with data tools
• Metadata Extraction: Extract author, title, genre info for cataloging
• Database Import: Import book data into MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite
• Spreadsheet Processing: Open in Excel, LibreOffice, Google Sheets
• Text Mining: Process text for NLP, sentiment analysis, statistics
• Simple Parsing: Easy to parse in any programming language
• Batch Processing: Automate processing of multiple books

Practical Examples

Example 1: Book Metadata Extraction

Input FB2 file (book.fb2):

<title-info>
  <book-title>The Great Adventure</book-title>
  <author>
    <first-name>John</first-name>
    <last-name>Smith</last-name>
  </author>
  <genre>science_fiction</genre>
  <date>2024</date>
</title-info>

Output TSV file (book.tsv):

element_type	content	attribute	value
title	The Great Adventure
author_first_name	John
author_last_name	Smith
genre	science_fiction
date	2024		

Example 2: Chapter Structure Extraction

Input FB2 structure:

<section>
  <title>Chapter 1: The Beginning</title>
  <p>It was a dark and stormy night.</p>
  <p>The wind howled through the trees.</p>
</section>

Output TSV:

type	level	title	content
chapter	1	Chapter 1: The Beginning
paragraph	2		It was a dark and stormy night.
paragraph	2		The wind howled through the trees.

Example 3: Importing to Spreadsheet

Output TSV can be opened directly in Excel/LibreOffice:

Element	Type	Content	Length
Book Title	metadata	The Great Adventure	19
Author	metadata	John Smith	10
Chapter 1	structure	The Beginning	92
Chapter 2	structure	The Middle	156
Chapter 3	structure	The End	78

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: What is FB2 format?

A: FB2 (FictionBook 2) is an XML-based ebook format created in Russia in 2004. It's designed for storing fiction with rich metadata including author info, genres, cover images, and structured content. FB2 is extremely popular in Eastern Europe and CIS countries, supported by readers like FBReader, Cool Reader, and Calibre.

Q: What is TSV format?

A: TSV (Tab-Separated Values) is a simple text format for storing tabular data. Each line represents a row, and tabs separate columns. It's similar to CSV but uses tabs instead of commas, making it ideal for text data that contains commas. TSV is universally supported by spreadsheets, databases, and data analysis tools.

Q: What structure will the TSV output have?

A: The TSV output typically has columns like "element_type", "level", "title", "content", and "metadata". Each row represents an element from the FB2 file (metadata, chapter, paragraph, etc.). The exact structure may vary based on the conversion tool, but the goal is to represent the book's hierarchical structure in a flat tabular format.

Q: Can I open TSV files in Excel or Google Sheets?

A: Yes! TSV files open directly in Microsoft Excel, LibreOffice Calc, Google Sheets, and all major spreadsheet applications. They recognize the tab delimiter automatically. You can then sort, filter, analyze, and visualize the book data like any other spreadsheet.

Q: How do I import TSV into a database?

A: Most databases have built-in TSV import functionality. In MySQL: `LOAD DATA INFILE 'file.tsv' INTO TABLE tablename`. In PostgreSQL: `COPY tablename FROM 'file.tsv'`. SQLite, MongoDB, and other systems have similar import commands. You can also use GUI tools like DBeaver, pgAdmin, or MySQL Workbench.

Q: Will formatting be preserved?

A: No. TSV is a plain text data format without formatting capabilities. Text styling (bold, italic), colors, fonts, and layout are lost. However, the text content itself is preserved, along with structural information like which paragraph belongs to which chapter.

Q: Can I convert TSV back to FB2?

A: Technically possible but challenging. You would need to write a script that reconstructs the XML structure from the tabular data. Since TSV loses formatting and some structural details, the resulting FB2 would be simplified. It's better to keep the original FB2 file if you need it later.

Q: What if my book text contains tab characters?

A: Tab characters in the original text can interfere with TSV parsing. Good converters will replace tabs with spaces or escape them. When importing TSV, make sure your tool properly handles escaped tabs or uses a consistent escaping mechanism.