CSV Data Files

A csv file contains comma separated values, where each line is a record and each comma-separated column is a data field for a particular category. The first record in a CSV file generally contains column headers, and the data in the records following the line containing the headers may fill fewer fields than those specified by the headers.

At www.csvreader.com, you can read up about CSV data files and readers, and in addition, you can download a Free Java Full Version CSV Reader. You can visit their CSV forum at http://groups.google.com/group/CSVChat.

If you use databases and spreadsheets (such as the well-known Microsoft Excel) or applications that utilize databases or numerical text files, you will often be required to import or export files, and the applications in question may very well specify that the data to be imported/exported are formatted as a csv file. Software developers and researchers use CSV files transfer large amounts of tabular data between institutions or software applications that are not directly connected. The files are easily readable, and understandable, and they can be manipulated as simple text, without the overhead entailed by expensive database software.