RCM:CSV (Comma Separated Values) file format
From RCMWiki
A Comma separated values (CSV) file is used for the digital storage of data structured in a table of lists form, where each associated item (member) in a group is in association with others also separated by the commas of its set. Each line in the CSV file corresponds to a row in the table. Within a line, fields are separated by commas, each field belonging to one table column. CSV files are often used for moving tabular data between two different computer programs, for example between a database program and a spreadsheet program.
Specification
CSV is a delimited data format that has fields/columns separated by the comma character and rows separated by newlines. Fields that contain a special character (comma, newline, or double quote), must be enclosed in double quotes. However, if a line contains a single entry which is the empty string, it may be enclosed in double quotes. If a field's value contains a double quote character it is escaped by placing another double quote character next to it. The CSV file format does not require a specific character encoding, byte order, or line terminator format.
Example
| 1997 | Ford | E350 | ac, abs, moon | 3000.00 |
| 1999 | Chevy | Venture "Extended Edition" | 4900.00 | |
| 1996 | Jeep | Grand Cherokee | MUST SELL! air, moon roof, loaded | 4799.00 |
The above table of data may be represented in CSV format as follows:
1997,Ford,E350,"ac, abs, moon",3000.00 1999,Chevy,"Venture ""Extended Edition""","",4900.00 1996,Jeep,Grand Cherokee,"MUST SELL!
air, moon roof, loaded",4799.00
This CSV example illustrates that:
- fields that contain commas, double-quotes, or line-breaks must be quoted,
- a quote within a field must be escaped with an additional quote immediately preceding the literal quote,
- space before and after delimiter commas may be trimmed (which is prohibited by RFC 4180), and
- a line break within an element must be preserved.
How to create CSV-file
1. Start MS Excel
2. First row - column names
3. Next rows - data
4. Save as - select CSV format
