(Xojo Plugin) CSV Special Chars - Comma, Double-Quotes

The Chilkat CSV class/component automatically handles special characters which include double-quotes, and the delimiter character (comma or semicolon).

The Chilkat CSV library/component/class is freeware. The downloads for .NET, C++, Perl, Java, Ruby, and Python contain all of the Chilkat classes, some of which are freeware and some of which require licensing.

Chilkat Xojo Plugin Download Xojo Plugin for Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, and ARM, ARM64

// This example program loads a file (sample.csv)
// that contains this content:
// 
// year,color,country,food
// 2001,red,France,cheese
// 2005,blue,"United States",hamburger
// 2008,green,Italy,pasta
// 1998,orange,Japan,sushi
// 
// The first row contains the column names.
// This file is available at:
// http://www.chilkatsoft.com/testData/sample.csv

Dim csv As New Chilkat.Csv

// Prior to loading the CSV file, indicate that the 1st row
// should be treated as column names:
csv.HasColumnNames = True

// Load the CSV records from the file:
Dim success As Boolean
success = csv.LoadFile("sample.csv")
If (success <> True) Then
    System.DebugLog(csv.LastErrorText)
    Return
End If

// A field may contain the delimiter character (in this case
// the delimiter is a comma):
// Change "cheese" to "cheese,baguette"
// ("cheese" is at row=0, column=3
success = csv.SetCell(0,3,"cheese,baguette")

// A field may also contain double-quotes:
// Change blue to shiny "metallic" blue
success = csv.SetCell(1,1,"shiny ""metallic"" blue")

// Write the updated CSV to a string and display:
Dim csvDoc As String
csvDoc = csv.SaveToString()
System.DebugLog(csvDoc)

// Save the CSV to a file:
success = csv.SaveFile("out.csv")
If (success <> True) Then
    System.DebugLog(csv.LastErrorText)
End If

// The out.csv contains this:
// year,color,country,food
// 2001,red,France,"cheese,baguette"
// 2005,"shiny ""metallic"" blue","United States",hamburger
// 2008,green,Italy,pasta
// 1998,orange,Japan,sush