How to use tabula in AWS Lambda to read PDF table

Question

Hello I get the following error while trying to use tabula to read a table in a pdf.

I was aware of some of the difficulties (here) using this package with AWS lambda and tried to zip the tabula package via an EC2 (Ubuntu 20.02) and then, add it as a layer in the function.

Many thanks in advance!

{ "errorMessage": "`java` command is not found from this Python process.Please ensure Java is installed and PATH is set for `java`", "errorType": "JavaNotFoundError", "stackTrace": [ " File \"/var/task/lambda_function.py\", line 39, in lambda_handler\n df = tabula.read_pdf(BytesIO(fs), pages=\"all\", area = [box],\n", " File \"/opt/python/lib/python3.8/site-packages/tabula/io.py\", line 420, in read_pdf\n output = _run(java_options, tabula_options, path, encoding)\n", " File \"/opt/python/lib/python3.8/site-packages/tabula/io.py\", line 98, in _run\n raise JavaNotFoundError(JAVA_NOT_FOUND_ERROR)\n" ] }

Code

import boto3

import read_pdf from tabula
from io import BytesIO

def lambda_handler(event, context):
    
    client = boto3.client('s3')
    
    s3 = boto3.resource('s3')

    # Get most recent file name
    response = client.list_objects_v2(Bucket='S3bucket')
    all = response['Contents']        
    latest = max(all, key=lambda x: x['LastModified'])
    latest_key = latest['Key'] 
    
    # Get file
    obj = s3.Object('S3bucket', latest_key)
    fs = obj.get()['Body'].read()
    
    # Read PDF
    box = [3.99, .22, 8.3, 7.86]
    fc = 72
             
    for i in range(0, len(box)):
        box[i] *= fc
        
    df = tabula.read_pdf(BytesIO(fs), pages="all", area = [box], output_format = "dataframe", lattice=True)

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Sep 27 '22 at 17:25

2

Here is the Dockerfile that ultimatley worked and allowed me to run tabula in my lambda function:


ARG FUNCTION_DIR="/var/task/"

COPY ./ ${FUNCTION_DIR}

# Install OpenJDK
RUN yum install -y java-1.8.0-openjdk


# Setup Python environment
# Install PYTHON requirements
COPY requirements.txt ./
RUN pip install --no-cache-dir -r requirements.txt

# Copy function code to container
COPY app.py ./


CMD [ "app.handler" ]

answered Sep 27 '22 at 17:25

ttam10

35
5

I put together a more detailed answer that uses this approach here - https://stackoverflow.com/questions/76516017/how-to-use-tabula-on-aws-lambda-to-read-pdf – Ricardo Sueiras Jun 21 '23 at 21:15

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Sep 22 '22 at 20:07

Tabula's python package is just a wrapper for java code. Here's a reference to the package here.

Java 8+ is required to be installed for this to work. Your best bet to achieve that is to develop a docker container image where your script works and deploy that image as a lambda function.

AWS has a good walkthrough that might help.

How to use tabula in AWS Lambda to read PDF table

2 Answers2

Linked