What is CSV?

by ConvertCSV

CSV (Comma-Separated Values) is a data format that is commonly used for storing and exchanging tabular data. CSV data consists of a series of records, where each record represents a row of data and each field within a record represents a column. If you've seen an Excel spreadsheet, that is the best way to visualize the data. The fields in a record are separated by commas, allowing the data to be easily read by a variety of software tools. Although the comma is used to separate values, similar formats are sometimes referred to as CSV also, though they use the semi-colon, or TAB as the separator (aka TSV). Usually the first line of the CSV file will contain the column headers. The following lines will contain the data. Ideally, the each record (aka row) in the file contain the same number of fields.

CSV is a simple and widely-supported format that is supported by many different software applications, including spreadsheets, database management systems, and data analysis tools. CSV files are often used for exporting and importing data between different systems, as well as for storing data in a convenient and portable format.

One of the main advantages of CSV is its simplicity. Because the format is so simple, CSV files are easy to read and write using a variety of programming languages and tools. This makes CSV a versatile and widely-used format for storing and exchanging data. However, CSV also has some limitations, such as the fact that it does not support complex data types or hierarchical data structures.

One way convertcsv.io and convertcsv.com support hierarchical data is via the column headers. For example, when converting from CSV to JSON, and your input is: 


id,name/first,name/last
1,bob,smith
2,tom,jones
The output will be: 

[
  {"id": 1, "name": {"first": "bob", "last": "smith"}},
  {"id": 2, "name": {"first": "tom", "last": "jones"}}
]

Overall, CSV is a convenient and widely-supported data format that is well-suited for many different purposes. If you need to store or exchange tabular data, CSV is likely to be a good choice.

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