Sharenet Download Specifications

Sharenet has a number of end of day download file formats which are typically available by 8pm each trading day. Many programs use the legacy DN file format that was developed as a South African standard in 1988. Where possible we advise developers and those that can customise file usage to use our DN Plus file format.

We also supply update programs and databases in Metastock and Ascii format.

Support for the new DN Plus format is available in:

• Sharenet Metadesk (metastock update system... used with a range of American bases programs)
• Amibroker
• Most spreadsheets can open the DN Plus file and allow it to be linked and embedded in larger spread sheet systems.

The HED File

Both the DN and DN Plus format use our HED file to make name changes and share splits. The HED file is named
DD-MM-YY.HED (eg: 25-10-04.HED). The HED file must be read and applied prior to the updating of the DN file.

The commands are:

• New listing:
  
    *NSH SHARENAME SECTOR YYYYYY
  
  
• De-listing:
  
    *DSH SHARENAME SECTOR
  
  
• Re-Name:
  
    *RSH OLDNAME SECTOR NEWNAME
  
  
• Change Sector:
  
    *MSH SHARENAME OLDSEC NEWSEC
  
  
• Sector Name new/change
  
    *NSE DNSECTOR NAME (name may contain spaces)
  
  
• Correction of Error: (If the date does not exist in the database, insert it, otherwise update the values)
  
    *ERR SHARENAME SECTOR DATE_OF ERROR (DDMMYY) CLOSE HIGH LOW VOL
  
  
• Splits and consolidations:
  
    *SPL SHARENAME SECTOR PRICE_FACTOR VOLUME_FACTOR EFFECTIVE_DATE(DDMMYY) LAST_CLOSE
  
  

PRICE_FACTOR	:	Multiply C,H,L by this factor
VOLUME_FACTOR	:	Multiply volume by this factor
EFFECTIVE_DATE	:	Date up to which the consolidation should be done (inclusive)
LAST_CLOSE	:	Close on effective date as a check.

NB: It is vital that the program compare the price in its database on the effective date with the LAST_CLOSE field price. If they do not match or the price is 0 the split must not be done.



The DN Plus File

The DN Plus file is a comma separated (CSV) file that can be downloading by selecting the DN Plus option in our Sharenet Internet Downloader program. Lines that start with a # should be ignored. Extra fields may be added at a later date and programs should take this into account.

There is always a header record with the column headings present in the file as follows:

  DN_NAME,EXCHANGE,CODE,DNSECTOR,EXCHANGE_SECTOR,DATE,OPEN,HIGH,LOW,CLOSE,VOLUME,
  OI,DY,EY,VALUE,DEALS,BID,OFFER,CURRENCY,ISSUED_SHARES,FULL_NAME

Decimals are always present when required, there are no thousands separators.


The fields are as follows:

• DN_NAME - Sharenet short name for the share
• EXCHANGE - Exchange code (JSE, SAFEX, BESA, etc)
• CODE - Share code for share
• DNSECTOR - Sharenet sector code
• EXCHANGE_SECTOR - Exchange sector code
• DATE - Date in YYYYMMDD format (note that corrections for previous days can also be present in the file)
• OPEN - Days open price
• HIGH - Days high price
• LOW - Days low price
• CLOSE - Days closing price
• VOLUME - total days volume
• OI - Open Interest
• DY - Dividend yield (can be negative)
• EY - Earnings yield (can be negative)
• VALUE - total days value
• DEALS - total number of deals for the day
• BID - bid at end of day
• OFFER - offer at end of day
• CURRENCY - Currency of stock (eg: ZAR, USD)
• ISSUED_SHARES - number of shares in issue
• FULL_NAME - Full long name of company

The DN File (legacy file)

The DN file is a fixed position file that can be downloaded by selecting the DN File option in our Sharenet Internet Downloader program.

The layout of the file is as follows: (copy html tables from /support/dnspec_new.htm)

NAME   DATE   CLOSE   HIGH   LOW   VOLUME   SEC   DY%   EY%

The record layout of the file is as follows (1st character of column = 1)

Field	Start	Length
Name	5	9
Date	16	6
Close	23	8
High	32	8
Low	41	8
Volume	50	8
Sector Number	59	3
Div. Yield %	63	3
Earn Yield %	67	3

All fields, except for the name , are left padded with spaces (i.e. right justified)

Decimals are not supported in this file format.

Where needed, figures have been multiplied by a factor to remove the decimals.

Note that Negative dividend and earnings yields are not supported.

Dividend and earnings yields should be divided by 10 (ie: 123 means the figure is 12.3)

The factors used for other items like $-RAND are supplied in the XDN file.

The DNY file is the same as the DN file, but the Date is in YYYYMMDD format.