# csv(n) 0.3 csv "CSV processing"

## NAME

csv - Procedures to handle CSV data.

## SYNOPSIS

package require Tcl 8.3
package require csv ?0.3?

::csv::join values {sepChar ,}
::csv::joinlist values {sepChar ,}
::csv::read2matrix chan m {sepChar ,} {expand none}
::csv::read2queue chan q {sepChar ,}
::csv::report cmd matrix ?chan?
::csv::split line {sepChar ,}
::csv::split2matrix m line {sepChar ,} {expand none}
::csv::split2queue q line {sepChar ,}
::csv::writematrix m chan {sepChar ,}
::csv::writequeue q chan {sepChar ,}

## DESCRIPTION

The csv package provides commands to manipulate information in CSV FORMAT (CSV = Comma Separated Values).

## COMMANDS

The following commands are available:

::csv::join values {sepChar ,}
  Takes a list of values and returns a string in CSV format containing these values. The separator character can be defined by the caller, but this is optional. The default is &quot;,&quot;.
::csv::joinlist values {sepChar ,}
  Takes a list of lists of values and returns a string in CSV format containing these values. The separator character can be defined by the caller, but this is optional. The default is &quot;,&quot;. Each element of the outer list is considered a record, these are separated by newlines in the result. The elements of each record are formatted as usual (via ::csv::join).
::csv::read2matrix chan m {sepChar ,} {expand none}
  A wrapper around ::csv::split2matrix (see below) reading CSV-formatted lines from the specified channel (until EOF) and adding them to the given matrix. For an explanation of the expand argument see ::csv::split2matrix.
::csv::read2queue chan q {sepChar ,}
  A wrapper around ::csv::split2queue (see below) reading CSV-formatted lines from the specified channel (until EOF) and adding them to the given queue.
::csv::report cmd matrix ?chan?
  A report command which can be used by the matrix methods format 2string and format 2chan. For the latter this command delegates the work to ::csv::writematrix. cmd is expected to be either printmatrix or printmatrix2channel. The channel argument, chan, has to be present for the latter and must not be present for the first.
::csv::split line {sepChar ,}
  converts a line in CSV format into a list of the values contained in the line. The character used to separate the values from each other can be defined by the caller, via sepChar, but this is optional. The default is &quot;,&quot;.
::csv::split2matrix m line {sepChar ,} {expand none}
  The same as ::csv::split, but appends the resulting list as a new row to the matrix m, using the method add row. The expansion mode specified via expand determines how the command handles a matrix with less columns than contained in line. The allowed modes are:
  none
    This is the default mode. In this mode it is the responsibility of the caller to ensure that the matrix has enough columns to contain the full line. If there are not enough columns the list of values is silently truncated at the end to fit.
  empty
    In this mode the command expands an empty matrix to hold all columns of the specified line, but goes no further. The overall effect is that the first of a series of lines determines the number of columns in the matrix and all following lines are truncated to that size, as if mode none was set.
  auto
    In this mode the command expands the matrix as needed to hold all columns contained in line. The overall effect is that after adding a series of lines the matrix will have enough columns to hold all columns of the longest line encountered so far.
::csv::split2queue q line {sepChar ,}
  The same as ::csv::split, but appending the resulting list as a single item to the queue q, using the method put.
::csv::writematrix m chan {sepChar ,}
  A wrapper around ::csv::join taking all rows in the matrix m and writing them CSV formatted into the channel chan.
::csv::writequeue q chan {sepChar ,}
  A wrapper around ::csv::join taking all items in the queue q (assumes that they are lists) and writing them CSV formatted into the channel chan.

## FORMAT

Each record of a csv file (comma-separated values, as exported e.g. by Excel) is a set of ASCII values separated by &quot;,&quot;. For other languages it may be &quot;;&quot; however, although this is not important for this case (The functions provided here allow any separator character).

If a value contains itself the separator &quot;,&quot;, then it (the value) is put between &quot;&quot;.

If a value contains &quot;, it is replaced by &quot;&quot;.

## EXAMPLE

The record

    123,"123,521.2","Mary says ""Hello, I am Mary"""

is parsed as follows:

    a) 123
    b) 123,521.2
    c) Mary says "Hello, I am Mary"

## SEE ALSO

matrix, queue

## KEYWORDS

csv, matrix, queue, package, tcllib