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CSV Special Characters

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Ross Scroggs edited this page Dec 1, 2023 · 5 revisions

CSV Special Characters

Python variables that control CSV file reading/writing:

Dialect.delimiter
    A one-character string used to separate fields.
    It defaults to ','.

Dialect.doublequote
    Controls how instances of quotechar appearing inside a field should themselves be quoted.
    When True, the character is doubled. When False, the escapechar is used as a prefix to the quotechar.
    It defaults to True.

Dialect.escapechar
    A one-character string used by the writer to escape the delimiter if quoting is set to QUOTE_NONE and the quotechar if doublequote is False.
    On reading, the escapechar removes any special meaning from the following character.
    It defaults to None, which disables escaping.

Dialect.lineterminator
    The string used to terminate lines produced by the writer.
    It defaults to '\r\n'.

    The reader is hard-coded to recognise either '\r' or '\n' as end-of-line, and ignores lineterminator.

Dialect.quotechar
    A one-character string used to quote fields containing special characters, such as the delimiter or quotechar, or which contain new-line characters.
    It defaults to '"'.

Dialect.quoting
    Controls when quotes should be generated by the writer and recognised by the reader. It can take on any of the QUOTE_* constants (see section Module Contents).
    It defaults to QUOTE_MINIMAL.

GAM variables that control CSV file reading/writing:

csv_input_column_delimiter = , - Dialect.delimiter
csv_input_no_escape_char = true - Dialect.escapechar is set to None if true, '\' if false
csv_input_quote_char = " - Dialect.quotechar
csv_output_column_delimiter = , - Dialect.delimiter
csv_output_no_escape_char = false - Dialect.escapechar is set to None if true, '\' if false
csv_output_line_terminator = lf - Dialect.lineterminator
csv_output_quote_char = " - Dialect.quotechar
todrive_no_escape_char = true - Dialect.escapechar is set to None if true, '\' if false

GAM sets Dialect.doublequote to true and Dialect.quoting to QUOTE_MINIMAL; there are no variables to change these values.

Examples

Local file, default settings

With these settings, here are examples of how field values are mapped on output to a local file:

csv_output_column_delimiter = ,
csv_output_no_escape_char = false
csv_output_quote_char = "
Input Output
abc def abc def
abc,def "abc,def"
abc"def "abc""def"
abc\def abc\\def

Local file, modified settings

With these settings, here are examples of how field values are mapped on output to a local file:

csv_output_column_delimiter = ,
csv_output_no_escape_char = true
csv_output_quote_char = "
Input Output
abc def abc def
abc,def "abc,def"
abc"def "abc""def"
abc\def abc\def

todrive, default settings

With these settings, here are examples of how field values are mapped on output to todrive

csv_output_column_delimiter = ,
todrive_no_escape_char = true
csv_output_quote_char = "
Input Output
abc def abc def
abc,def "abc,def"
abc"def "abc""def"
abc\def abc\def

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