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"#if WITH_THREAD" is incorrect; must be #ifdef instead; WITH_THREAD isn't always set to an integer value when it's defined.
author Tim Peters <tim.peters@gmail.com>
date Wed, 07 Jul 2004 20:42:07 +0000
parents 3c796413f05e
children c099aa767952
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1 \section{\module{csv} --- CSV File Reading and Writing}
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2
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3 \declaremodule{standard}{csv}
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4 \modulesynopsis{Write and read tabular data to and from delimited files.}
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5 \sectionauthor{Skip Montanaro}{skip@pobox.com}
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6
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7 \versionadded{2.3}
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8 \index{csv}
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9 \indexii{data}{tabular}
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10
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11 The so-called CSV (Comma Separated Values) format is the most common import
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12 and export format for spreadsheets and databases. There is no ``CSV
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13 standard'', so the format is operationally defined by the many applications
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14 which read and write it. The lack of a standard means that subtle
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15 differences often exist in the data produced and consumed by different
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16 applications. These differences can make it annoying to process CSV files
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17 from multiple sources. Still, while the delimiters and quoting characters
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18 vary, the overall format is similar enough that it is possible to write a
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19 single module which can efficiently manipulate such data, hiding the details
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20 of reading and writing the data from the programmer.
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21
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22 The \module{csv} module implements classes to read and write tabular data in
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23 CSV format. It allows programmers to say, ``write this data in the format
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24 preferred by Excel,'' or ``read data from this file which was generated by
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25 Excel,'' without knowing the precise details of the CSV format used by
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26 Excel. Programmers can also describe the CSV formats understood by other
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27 applications or define their own special-purpose CSV formats.
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28
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29 The \module{csv} module's \class{reader} and \class{writer} objects read and
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30 write sequences. Programmers can also read and write data in dictionary
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31 form using the \class{DictReader} and \class{DictWriter} classes.
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32
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33 \begin{notice}
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34 This version of the \module{csv} module doesn't support Unicode
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35 input. Also, there are currently some issues regarding \ASCII{} NUL
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36 characters. Accordingly, all input should generally be printable
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37 \ASCII{} to be safe. These restrictions will be removed in the future.
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38 \end{notice}
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39
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40 \begin{seealso}
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41 % \seemodule{array}{Arrays of uniformly types numeric values.}
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42 \seepep{305}{CSV File API}
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43 {The Python Enhancement Proposal which proposed this addition
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44 to Python.}
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45 \end{seealso}
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46
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47
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48 \subsection{Module Contents \label{csv-contents}}
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49
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50 The \module{csv} module defines the following functions:
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51
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52 \begin{funcdesc}{reader}{csvfile\optional{,
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53 dialect=\code{'excel'}\optional{, fmtparam}}}
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54 Return a reader object which will iterate over lines in the given
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55 {}\var{csvfile}. \var{csvfile} can be any object which supports the
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56 iterator protocol and returns a string each time its \method{next}
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57 method is called. If \var{csvfile} is a file object, it must be opened with
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58 the 'b' flag on platforms where that makes a difference. An optional
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59 {}\var{dialect} parameter can be given
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60 which is used to define a set of parameters specific to a particular CSV
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61 dialect. It may be an instance of a subclass of the \class{Dialect}
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62 class or one of the strings returned by the \function{list_dialects}
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63 function. The other optional {}\var{fmtparam} keyword arguments can be
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64 given to override individual formatting parameters in the current
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65 dialect. For more information about the dialect and formatting
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66 parameters, see section~\ref{csv-fmt-params}, ``Dialects and Formatting
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67 Parameters'' for details of these parameters.
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68
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69 All data read are returned as strings. No automatic data type
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70 conversion is performed.
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71 \end{funcdesc}
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72
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73 \begin{funcdesc}{writer}{csvfile\optional{,
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74 dialect=\code{'excel'}\optional{, fmtparam}}}
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75 Return a writer object responsible for converting the user's data into
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76 delimited strings on the given file-like object. \var{csvfile} can be any
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77 object with a \function{write} method. If \var{csvfile} is a file object,
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78 it must be opened with the 'b' flag on platforms where that makes a
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79 difference. An optional
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80 {}\var{dialect} parameter can be given which is used to define a set of
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81 parameters specific to a particular CSV dialect. It may be an instance
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82 of a subclass of the \class{Dialect} class or one of the strings
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83 returned by the \function{list_dialects} function. The other optional
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84 {}\var{fmtparam} keyword arguments can be given to override individual
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85 formatting parameters in the current dialect. For more information
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86 about the dialect and formatting parameters, see
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87 section~\ref{csv-fmt-params}, ``Dialects and Formatting Parameters'' for
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88 details of these parameters. To make it as easy as possible to
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89 interface with modules which implement the DB API, the value
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90 \constant{None} is written as the empty string. While this isn't a
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91 reversible transformation, it makes it easier to dump SQL NULL data values
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92 to CSV files without preprocessing the data returned from a
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93 \code{cursor.fetch*()} call. All other non-string data are stringified
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94 with \function{str()} before being written.
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95 \end{funcdesc}
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96
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97 \begin{funcdesc}{register_dialect}{name, dialect}
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98 Associate \var{dialect} with \var{name}. \var{dialect} must be a subclass
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99 of \class{csv.Dialect}. \var{name} must be a string or Unicode object.
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100 \end{funcdesc}
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101
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102 \begin{funcdesc}{unregister_dialect}{name}
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103 Delete the dialect associated with \var{name} from the dialect registry. An
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104 \exception{Error} is raised if \var{name} is not a registered dialect
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105 name.
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106 \end{funcdesc}
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107
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108 \begin{funcdesc}{get_dialect}{name}
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109 Return the dialect associated with \var{name}. An \exception{Error} is
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110 raised if \var{name} is not a registered dialect name.
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111 \end{funcdesc}
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112
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113 \begin{funcdesc}{list_dialects}{}
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114 Return the names of all registered dialects.
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115 \end{funcdesc}
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116
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117
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118 The \module{csv} module defines the following classes:
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119
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120 \begin{classdesc}{DictReader}{csvfile\optional{,
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121 fieldnames=\constant{None},\optional{,
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122 restkey=\constant{None}\optional{,
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123 restval=\constant{None}\optional{,
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124 dialect=\code{'excel'}\optional{,
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125 *args, **kwds}}}}}}
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126 Create an object which operates like a regular reader but maps the
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127 information read into a dict whose keys are given by the optional
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128 {} \var{fieldnames}
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129 parameter. If the \var{fieldnames} parameter is omitted, the values in
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130 the first row of the \var{csvfile} will be used as the fieldnames.
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131 If the row read has fewer fields than the fieldnames sequence,
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132 the value of \var{restval} will be used as the default value. If the row
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133 read has more fields than the fieldnames sequence, the remaining data is
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134 added as a sequence keyed by the value of \var{restkey}. If the row read
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135 has fewer fields than the fieldnames sequence, the remaining keys take the
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136 value of the optional \var{restval} parameter. Any other optional or
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137 keyword arguments are passed to the underlying \class{reader} instance.
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138 \end{classdesc}
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139
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140
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141 \begin{classdesc}{DictWriter}{csvfile, fieldnames\optional{,
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142 restval=""\optional{,
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143 extrasaction=\code{'raise'}\optional{,
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144 dialect=\code{'excel'}\optional{,
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145 *args, **kwds}}}}}
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146 Create an object which operates like a regular writer but maps dictionaries
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147 onto output rows. The \var{fieldnames} parameter identifies the order in
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148 which values in the dictionary passed to the \method{writerow()} method are
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149 written to the \var{csvfile}. The optional \var{restval} parameter
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150 specifies the value to be written if the dictionary is missing a key in
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151 \var{fieldnames}. If the dictionary passed to the \method{writerow()}
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152 method contains a key not found in \var{fieldnames}, the optional
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153 \var{extrasaction} parameter indicates what action to take. If it is set
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154 to \code{'raise'} a \exception{ValueError} is raised. If it is set to
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155 \code{'ignore'}, extra values in the dictionary are ignored. Any other
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156 optional or keyword arguments are passed to the underlying \class{writer}
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157 instance.
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158
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159 Note that unlike the \class{DictReader} class, the \var{fieldnames}
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160 parameter of the \class{DictWriter} is not optional. Since Python's
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161 \class{dict} objects are not ordered, there is not enough information
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162 available to deduce the order in which the row should be written to the
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163 \var{csvfile}.
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164
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165 \end{classdesc}
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166
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167 \begin{classdesc*}{Dialect}{}
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168 The \class{Dialect} class is a container class relied on primarily for its
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169 attributes, which are used to define the parameters for a specific
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170 \class{reader} or \class{writer} instance.
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171 \end{classdesc*}
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172
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173 \begin{classdesc}{Sniffer}{}
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174 The \class{Sniffer} class is used to deduce the format of a CSV file.
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175 \end{classdesc}
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176
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177 The \class{Sniffer} class provides a single method:
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178
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179 \begin{methoddesc}{sniff}{sample\optional{,delimiters=None}}
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180 Analyze the given \var{sample} and return a \class{Dialect} subclass
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181 reflecting the parameters found. If the optional \var{delimiters} parameter
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182 is given, it is interpreted as a string containing possible valid delimiter
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183 characters.
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184 \end{methoddesc}
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185
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186 \begin{methoddesc}{has_header}{sample}
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187 Analyze the sample text (presumed to be in CSV format) and return
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188 \constant{True} if the first row appears to be a series of column
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189 headers.
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190 \end{methoddesc}
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191
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192
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193 The \module{csv} module defines the following constants:
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194
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195 \begin{datadesc}{QUOTE_ALL}
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196 Instructs \class{writer} objects to quote all fields.
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197 \end{datadesc}
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198
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199 \begin{datadesc}{QUOTE_MINIMAL}
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200 Instructs \class{writer} objects to only quote those fields which contain
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201 the current \var{delimiter} or begin with the current \var{quotechar}.
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202 \end{datadesc}
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203
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204 \begin{datadesc}{QUOTE_NONNUMERIC}
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205 Instructs \class{writer} objects to quote all non-numeric fields.
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206 \end{datadesc}
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207
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208 \begin{datadesc}{QUOTE_NONE}
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209 Instructs \class{writer} objects to never quote fields. When the current
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210 \var{delimiter} occurs in output data it is preceded by the current
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211 \var{escapechar} character. When \constant{QUOTE_NONE} is in effect, it
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212 is an error not to have a single-character \var{escapechar} defined, even if
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213 no data to be written contains the \var{delimiter} character.
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214 \end{datadesc}
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215
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216
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217 The \module{csv} module defines the following exception:
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218
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219 \begin{excdesc}{Error}
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220 Raised by any of the functions when an error is detected.
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221 \end{excdesc}
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222
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223
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224 \subsection{Dialects and Formatting Parameters\label{csv-fmt-params}}
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225
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226 To make it easier to specify the format of input and output records,
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227 specific formatting parameters are grouped together into dialects. A
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228 dialect is a subclass of the \class{Dialect} class having a set of specific
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229 methods and a single \method{validate()} method. When creating \class{reader}
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230 or \class{writer} objects, the programmer can specify a string or a subclass
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231 of the \class{Dialect} class as the dialect parameter. In addition to, or
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232 instead of, the \var{dialect} parameter, the programmer can also specify
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233 individual formatting parameters, which have the same names as the
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234 attributes defined below for the \class{Dialect} class.
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235
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236 Dialects support the following attributes:
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237
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238 \begin{memberdesc}[Dialect]{delimiter}
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239 A one-character string used to separate fields. It defaults to \code{','}.
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240 \end{memberdesc}
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241
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242 \begin{memberdesc}[Dialect]{doublequote}
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243 Controls how instances of \var{quotechar} appearing inside a field should be
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244 themselves be quoted. When \constant{True}, the character is doubled.
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245 When \constant{False}, the \var{escapechar} must be a one-character string
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246 which is used as a prefix to the \var{quotechar}. It defaults to
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247 \constant{True}.
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248 \end{memberdesc}
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249
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250 \begin{memberdesc}[Dialect]{escapechar}
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251 A one-character string used to escape the \var{delimiter} if \var{quoting}
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252 is set to \constant{QUOTE_NONE}. It defaults to \constant{None}.
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253 \end{memberdesc}
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254
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255 \begin{memberdesc}[Dialect]{lineterminator}
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256 The string used to terminate lines in the CSV file. It defaults to
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257 \code{'\e r\e n'}.
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258 \end{memberdesc}
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259
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260 \begin{memberdesc}[Dialect]{quotechar}
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261 A one-character string used to quote elements containing the \var{delimiter}
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262 or which start with the \var{quotechar}. It defaults to \code{'"'}.
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263 \end{memberdesc}
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264
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265 \begin{memberdesc}[Dialect]{quoting}
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266 Controls when quotes should be generated by the writer. It can take on any
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267 of the \constant{QUOTE_*} constants (see section~\ref{csv-contents})
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268 and defaults to \constant{QUOTE_MINIMAL}.
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269 \end{memberdesc}
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270
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271 \begin{memberdesc}[Dialect]{skipinitialspace}
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272 When \constant{True}, whitespace immediately following the \var{delimiter}
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273 is ignored. The default is \constant{False}.
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274 \end{memberdesc}
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275
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276
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277 \subsection{Reader Objects}
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278
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279 Reader objects (\class{DictReader} instances and objects returned by
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280 the \function{reader()} function) have the following public methods:
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281
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282 \begin{methoddesc}[csv reader]{next}{}
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283 Return the next row of the reader's iterable object as a list, parsed
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284 according to the current dialect.
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285 \end{methoddesc}
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286
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287
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288 \subsection{Writer Objects}
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289
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290 \class{Writer} objects (\class{DictWriter} instances and objects returned by
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291 the \function{writer()} function) have the following public methods. A
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292 {}\var{row} must be a sequence of strings or numbers for \class{Writer}
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293 objects and a dictionary mapping fieldnames to strings or numbers (by
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294 passing them through \function{str()} first) for {}\class{DictWriter}
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295 objects. Note that complex numbers are written out surrounded by parens.
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296 This may cause some problems for other programs which read CSV files
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297 (assuming they support complex numbers at all).
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298
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299 \begin{methoddesc}[csv writer]{writerow}{row}
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300 Write the \var{row} parameter to the writer's file object, formatted
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301 according to the current dialect.
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302 \end{methoddesc}
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303
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304 \begin{methoddesc}[csv writer]{writerows}{rows}
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305 Write all the \var{rows} parameters (a list of \var{row} objects as
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306 described above) to the writer's file object, formatted
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307 according to the current dialect.
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308 \end{methoddesc}
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309
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310
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311 \subsection{Examples}
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312
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313 The ``Hello, world'' of csv reading is
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314
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315 \begin{verbatim}
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316 import csv
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317 reader = csv.reader(file("some.csv", "rb"))
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318 for row in reader:
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319 print row
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320 \end{verbatim}
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321
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322 The corresponding simplest possible writing example is
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323
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324 \begin{verbatim}
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325 import csv
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326 writer = csv.writer(file("some.csv", "wb"))
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327 for row in someiterable:
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328 writer.writerow(row)
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329 \end{verbatim}