Question

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

Asked by: gwosgood

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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Asked On
2008-05-07 at 10:44:40ID23383644
Tags

Vb.NET 2005

Topic

Microsoft Visual Basic.Net

Participating Experts
5
Points
500
Comments
11

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Answers

 

by: robbhillPosted on 2008-05-07 at 10:50:57ID: 21518745

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

 

by: SteveH_UKPosted on 2008-05-07 at 10:56:17ID: 21518802

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.

 

by: jeffldPosted on 2008-05-07 at 10:58:12ID: 21518814


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

 

by: robbhillPosted on 2008-05-07 at 11:02:06ID: 21518850

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

 

by: robbhillPosted on 2008-05-07 at 11:03:46ID: 21518865

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

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

 

by: SteveH_UKPosted on 2008-05-07 at 11:08:10ID: 21518901

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

See if you agree.

 

by: Idle_MindPosted on 2008-05-07 at 11:14:54ID: 21518949

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()

 

by: robbhillPosted on 2008-05-07 at 11:17:48ID: 21518976

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

 

by: robbhillPosted on 2008-05-07 at 11:18:43ID: 21518983

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

 

by: gwosgoodPosted on 2008-05-07 at 11:27:32ID: 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+

 

by: funwithdotnetPosted on 2008-05-07 at 12:21:36ID: 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.

20120131-EE-VQP-002

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