Re^2: search and delete comma delimited file

split ('","',$_);

While this split works on the data set presented, it is definitely not a good general solution for CSV parsing. There are at least two kinds of valid CSV that will break it. In the first place, many CSV generators omit quotation marks around fields that don't contain embedded special characters so this is a valid three-field CSV record in braces: {foo,"a,b",7} in which the quote-comma-quote split would fail because there are not quotes around some of the field-separating commas. Also, if there are embedded quote marks in the data, those are usually escaped by doubling the quote marks so this is also a valid three-field CSV record: {7,"a"",""b",8}, in which the split would fail because it would find a non-field-separating quote-comma-quote pattern.

Comment on Re^2: search and delete comma delimited file

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Re^3: search and delete comma delimited file by Popcorn Dave (Abbot) on Dec 10, 2004 at 06:12 UTC
No, you're right, I see that now, and that's a very good point. I was just trying to show something that I had used, with the caveat that it may or may not work for the OP's data. In my particular case, the data is just CSV so just a split on ',' with the undefs works. Useless trivia: In the 2004 Las Vegas phone book there are approximately 28 pages of ads for massage, but almost 200 for lawyers.	[reply]

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Re^3: search and delete comma delimited file
by Popcorn Dave (Abbot) on Dec 10, 2004 at 06:12 UTC

Useless trivia: In the 2004 Las Vegas phone book there are approximately 28 pages of ads for massage, but almost 200 for lawyers.

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