CSV (Comma Separated Values) file format is used by various spreadsheet software. CSV files are text files that can store text and numerical data organized in tables. CSV files are similar to normal text files.

Comma-separated values

Comma Separated Values (CSV) – the name of this format comes from the fact that data sets in such file are seperated by commas. In CSV file each line represents single data record, and records can contain one or more fields separated by commas.

Support for CSV files

CSV files are commonly used for transferring data between spreadsheet or database software, typically large amount of information such as contacts or client data. Most data processing software recognizes CSV format, and thus exporting CSV data directly to given application is a relatively simple process.

Issues with commas

CSV format isn’t completely standardized and some issues with separating values by commas can arise. Usually such problems manifest themselves when data fields contain commas or line splits. Such fields are either unrecognized or use quotation marks to surround values. However, quotation marks don’t solve all the problems as some fields require values to be embedded in quotation marks by default. In such case CSV implementation must employ additional characters or escape sequences.