Getting .Split(","c) to ignore commas within quotes : Vb.NET 2005

May 17, 2008 05:45am pdt

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05.07.2008 at 10:44AM PDT, ID: 23383644

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9.6

Getting .Split(","c) to ignore commas within quotes

Zone: Microsoft Visual Basic.Net

Tags: Vb.NET 2005

Hello experts;

I am reading a CSV file one line at a time and splitting the string into an array. Some of the CSV fields are strings, others are numbers. The CustomerName field, for example, is a string that may contain commas. Is there an efficient way to get the Split function to ignore the delimiter if it is within quotes?

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advance

PS I am coding in Vb.NET 2005

         
             Dim srFile As New StreamReader("C:\temp\PBPSalesHistoryDBUpdater.CSV")
Dim readLine As String = srFile.ReadLine
 
Dim recordCount as Integer = 0
Dim errorCount as Integer = 0
Dim Splitter As String()
 
Do
                    recordCount = recordCount + 1
                    Splitter = readLine.Split(","c)
                    .....
                    readLine = srFile.ReadLine
                   
Loop While String.IsNullOrEmpty(readLine) = False

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Question Stats

Zone: Programming

Question Asked By: gwosgood

Solution Provided By: Idle_Mind

Participating Experts: 5

Solution Grade: A

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05.07.2008 at 10:50AM PDT, ID: 21518745

robbhill:

yes..you will need to use a regex function I believe. There probably is another way...but regex might be the easiest.

05.07.2008 at 10:56AM PDT, ID: 21518802

SteveH_UK:

CSV file formats are actually quite complicated once you start handling all the special cases.

Why not use one already written: http://www.filehelpers.com/ -- free (commercial and non-commercial use), open source and written in .NET.

05.07.2008 at 10:58AM PDT, ID: 21518814

jeffld:

This isn't a solution, but it does relate to the issue that you are dealing with.

http://www.xbeat.net/vbspeed/c_ParseCSV.php

05.07.2008 at 11:02AM PDT, ID: 21518850

robbhill:

Here is an example of how one would parse using regex:

All you need is to change my regex function for one that works for your pattern:

Function SelectParser(ByVal SelectString As String) As ArrayList
Dim arSelect As New ArrayList

Dim s As String = SelectString
Dim mc As System.Text.RegularExpressions.MatchCollection = System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex.Matches(s, "(?<=\.)\w+")
Dim result(mc.Count) As String
For i As Integer = 0 To mc.Count - 1
result(i) = mc(i).Value
Debug.WriteLine(String.Format("result({0}) = {1}", i, result(i)))
arSelect.Add(mc(i).Value)
Next

Return arSelect

End Function

05.07.2008 at 11:03AM PDT, ID: 21518865

robbhill:

IF you need help with regex..here is a good link:

http://www.regular-expressions.info/

05.07.2008 at 11:08AM PDT, ID: 21518901

SteveH_UK:

Here's a comment on the regular expression approach: http://secretgeek.net/csv_trouble.asp.

See if you agree.

05.07.2008 at 11:14AM PDT, ID: 21518949

Rank: Genius

Idle_Mind:

If you have VB.Net 2005 (or above), then use the TextFieldParser() class:

Dim tfp As New Microsoft.VisualBasic.FileIO.TextFieldParser("c:\someFile.txt")
tfp.TextFieldType = FileIO.FieldType.Delimited
tfp.SetDelimiters(",")
tfp.HasFieldsEnclosedInQuotes = True ' <------------ THIS IS KEY! =)
tfp.TrimWhiteSpace = True

Dim fields() As String
While Not tfp.EndOfData
fields = tfp.ReadFields()
' ...do something with "fields"...
End While
tfp.Close()

Accepted Solution

05.07.2008 at 11:17AM PDT, ID: 21518976

robbhill:

if commas are the only problem..why not reformat the csv file so the delimiter is using a dash or / or any other symbol of your choice...

Then commas are of no issue.

No need to load proprietary software on a computer to handle splitting a string.

I could go on and on about proprietary software...what if one day they stop supporting it...or what if you change versions in your developing platform and they dont...what if they get hit by a car...

this is an easy vb.net solution....I say go for it -----cheers

05.07.2008 at 11:18AM PDT, ID: 21518983

robbhill:

Very Nice Idle Mind: have not seen that before---cheers

gwosgood

05.07.2008 at 11:27AM PDT, ID: 21519071

Idle Mind,

Perfect solution. Thank you very much for that idea. I feel much better using this than installing some third-party software that I dont have executive control over.

A+

funwithdotnet

05.07.2008 at 12:21PM PDT, ID: 21519527

Hease a simple way:
Dim tempLine As String
Dim seperatorChar As Char = "|"
tempLine = readLine.Replace(""",""", seperatorChar)
tempLine = tempLine.Replace("""", "")
splitter = tempLine.Split(seperatorChar)

This works great _except_ when one of the fields has only a comma (,). Some CSV files also have a space following the comma-deliteter. Adjust the first line of Replace code as necessary.

I also have another way I'll offer in another comment.

20080236-EE-VQP-29 / EE_QW_2_20070628