CSV (comma-separated values) is a simple text format for tables. Each line is a row, and fields within a row are separated by commas. The first row often holds column names. Despite a published description in RFC 4180, real-world files vary.
Why it matters
Nearly every spreadsheet, database, and analytics tool can import and export CSV, making it the common exchange format. It is human-readable and small, but it carries no data types, so software must guess whether "007" is a number or text.
Example
name,city,note
Asha,Shimla,"Likes tea, hates delays"
Ravi,Delhi,The quotes protect the comma inside the note. A quote within a quoted field is escaped by doubling it ("").
Common mistakes
- Opening a CSV in a spreadsheet and saving it, which can strip leading zeros or reformat dates.
- Assuming the encoding: use UTF-8, or accented characters break.
- Some regions use semicolons as the separator, so files do not import cleanly across locales.
Related
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