Editing Comma-separated values (section)

{{Short description|Text file formats for tabular data}}
{{Infobox file format
| name          = Comma-separated values
| icon          = CsvDelimited001.svg
| icon_size     = 128px
| logo          = 
| screenshot    = Example CSV file.png
| caption       = A simple CSV file listing three people and the companies they work for
| _noextcode    = on
| extension     = {{code|.csv}}
| _nomimecode   = on
| mime          = <code>text/csv</code><ref name="rfc4180"/>
| type code     = 
| uniform type  = public.comma-separated-values-text<ref name="appleuti">{{cite web |url=https://developer.apple.com/documentation/uniformtypeidentifiers/uttype/3551477-commaseparatedtext |title=commaSeparatedText |work=Apple Developer Documentation: Uniform Type Identifiers |publisher=[[Apple Inc]] |access-date=2023-05-22 |archive-date=2023-05-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230522150554/https://developer.apple.com/documentation/uniformtypeidentifiers/uttype/3551477-commaseparatedtext |url-status=live }}</ref>
| conforms to   = [[Delimiter-separated values|public.delimited-values-text]]<ref name="appleuti"/>
| magic         = 
| owner         = 
| latest release version = 
| latest release date = 
| genre         = multi-platform, serial data streams
| container for = [[database]] information organized as field separated lists
| contained by  = 
| extended from = 
| extended to   = 
| standard      = RFC 4180
| url           = 
}}
'''Comma-separated values''' ('''CSV''') is a [[text file]] format that uses [[comma]]s to separate values, and [[newline]]s to separate records. A CSV file stores [[Table (information)|tabular]] data (numbers and text) in [[plain text]], where each line of the file typically represents one data [[record (computer science)|record]]. Each record consists of the same number of [[field (computer science)|fields]], and these are separated by commas in the CSV file. If the field delimiter itself may appear within a field, fields can be surrounded with quotation marks.<ref>{{Cite web |date= |title=CSV Comma Separated Value File Format - How To - Creativyst - Explored,Designed,Delivered.(sm) |url=https://www.creativyst.com/Doc/Articles/CSV/CSV01.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210401084212/http://www.creativyst.com/Doc/Articles/CSV/CSV01.htm |archive-date=1 April 2021 |access-date=22 August 2023 |website=Creativyst Software}}</ref>

The CSV file format is one type of [[Delimiter-separated values|delimiter-separated file format]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.columbia.edu/sec/acis/db2/db2d0/db2d053.htm|title=IBM DB2 Administration Guide|publisher=IBM|archive-date=2016-12-13|access-date=2016-12-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161213014111/https://www.columbia.edu/sec/acis/db2/db2d0/db2d053.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Delimiters frequently used include the comma, [[tab-separated values|tab]], space, and semicolon. Delimiter-separated files are often given a ".csv" [[filename extension|extension]] even when the field separator is not a comma. Many applications or libraries that consume or produce CSV files have options to specify an alternative delimiter.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Which are the available formats |url=https://wikis.ec.europa.eu/display/EUROSTATHELP/Which+are+the+available+formats |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230726193851/https://wikis.ec.europa.eu/display/EUROSTATHELP/Which+are+the+available+formats |archive-date=26 July 2023 |access-date=22 August 2023 |website=Eurostat}}</ref>

The lack of adherence to the CSV standard RFC 4180 necessitates the support for a variety of CSV formats in data input software. Despite this drawback, CSV remains widespread in data applications and is widely supported by a variety of software, including common spreadsheet applications such as [[Microsoft Excel]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Import or export text (.txt or .csv) files |url=https://support.microsoft.com/en-au/office/import-or-export-text-txt-or-csv-files-5250ac4c-663c-47ce-937b-339e391393ba |access-date=2023-08-16 |website=Microsoft Support }}</ref> Benefits cited in favor of CSV include human readability and the simplicity of the format.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What is a CSV file: A comprehensive guide |url=https://flatfile.com/blog/what-is-a-csv-file-guide-to-uses-and-benefits/ |access-date=2024-10-28 |website=flatfile.com |language=en}}</ref>