org.supercsv.prefs

Class CsvPreference

java.lang.Object

org.supercsv.prefs.CsvPreference

public final class CsvPreference
extends Object

Before reading or writing CSV files, you must supply the reader/writer with some preferences.

Please note: the end of line symbols are only used for writing.

Predefined configurations

Constant	Quote character	Delimiter character	End of line symbols
STANDARD_PREFERENCE	"	,	\r\n
EXCEL_PREFERENCE	"	,	\n
EXCEL_NORTH_EUROPE_PREFERENCE	"	;	\n
TAB_PREFERENCE	"	\t	\n

By default, spaces surrounding an unquoted cell are treated as part of the data. In versions of Super CSV prior to 2.0.0 this wasn't the case, and any surrounding spaces that weren't within quotes were ignored when reading (and quotes were automatically added to Strings containing surrounding spaces when writing).

If you wish enable this functionality again, then you can create a CsvPreference with the surroundingSpacesNeedQuotes flag set to true (the default is false). This means that surrounding spaces without quotes will be trimmed when reading, and quotes will automatically be added for Strings containing surrounding spaces when writing.

You can apply the surroundingSpacesNeedQuotes property to an existing preference as follows:

private static final CsvPreference STANDARD_SURROUNDING_SPACES_NEED_QUOTES = new CsvPreference.Builder(CsvPreference.STANDARD_PREFERENCE).surroundingSpacesNeedQuotes(true).build();

You can also create your own preferences. For example if your file was pipe-delimited, you could use the following:

private static final CsvPreference PIPE_DELIMITED = new CsvPreference.Builder('"', '|', "\n").build();

Other preferences incude:

• using a custom CsvEncoder when writing CSV (if you want complete control over how the CSV is encoded)
• using a custom QuoteMode when writing CSV (if you want to enable quotes when they're not normally required). You can use the existing AlwaysQuoteMode, ColumnQuoteMode, or supply your own.
• using a custom CommentMatcher to skip comments when reading CSV. You can use the existing CommentStartsWith, CommentMatches, or supply your own.
• ignoring empty lines (enabled by default)
• setting the maximum number of lines a row of CSV can span (useful for debugging files with mismatched quotes)

Author:

Kasper B. Graversen, James Bassett

Nested Class Summary

Nested Classes

Modifier and Type	Class and Description
static class	CsvPreference.Builder Builds immutable CsvPreference instances.

Field Summary

Fields

Modifier and Type	Field and Description
static CsvPreference	EXCEL_NORTH_EUROPE_PREFERENCE Ready to use configuration for north European excel CSV files (columns are separated by ";" instead of ",")
static CsvPreference	EXCEL_PREFERENCE Ready to use configuration for Windows Excel exported CSV files.
static CsvPreference	STANDARD_PREFERENCE Ready to use configuration that should cover 99% of all usages.
static CsvPreference	TAB_PREFERENCE Ready to use configuration for tab-delimited files.

Method Summary

Modifier and Type	Method and Description
CommentMatcher	getCommentMatcher() Returns the comment matcher.
int	getDelimiterChar() Returns the delimiter character
CsvEncoder	getEncoder() Returns the CSV encoder.
String	getEndOfLineSymbols() Returns the end of line symbols
int	getMaxLinesPerRow() Returns the maximum number of lines a row can span.
char	getQuoteChar() Returns the quote character
QuoteMode	getQuoteMode() Returns the quote mode.
boolean	isIgnoreEmptyLines() Returns the ignoreEmptyLines flag.
boolean	isSurroundingSpacesNeedQuotes() Returns the surroundingSpacesNeedQuotes flag.

Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object

clone, equals, finalize, getClass, hashCode, notify, notifyAll, toString, wait, wait, wait

Field Detail

STANDARD_PREFERENCE

public static final CsvPreference STANDARD_PREFERENCE

Ready to use configuration that should cover 99% of all usages.

EXCEL_PREFERENCE

public static final CsvPreference EXCEL_PREFERENCE

Ready to use configuration for Windows Excel exported CSV files.

EXCEL_NORTH_EUROPE_PREFERENCE

public static final CsvPreference EXCEL_NORTH_EUROPE_PREFERENCE

Ready to use configuration for north European excel CSV files (columns are separated by ";" instead of ",")

TAB_PREFERENCE

public static final CsvPreference TAB_PREFERENCE

Ready to use configuration for tab-delimited files.

Method Detail

getDelimiterChar

public int getDelimiterChar()

Returns the delimiter character

Returns:

the delimiter character

getEndOfLineSymbols

public String getEndOfLineSymbols()

Returns the end of line symbols

Returns:

the end of line symbols

getQuoteChar

public char getQuoteChar()

Returns the quote character

Returns:

the quote character

isSurroundingSpacesNeedQuotes

public boolean isSurroundingSpacesNeedQuotes()

Returns the surroundingSpacesNeedQuotes flag.

Returns:

the surroundingSpacesNeedQuotes flag

isIgnoreEmptyLines

public boolean isIgnoreEmptyLines()

Returns the ignoreEmptyLines flag.

Returns:

the ignoreEmptyLines flag

getEncoder

public CsvEncoder getEncoder()

Returns the CSV encoder.

Returns:

the CSV encoder

getQuoteMode

public QuoteMode getQuoteMode()

Returns the quote mode.

Returns:

the quote mode

getCommentMatcher

public CommentMatcher getCommentMatcher()

Returns the comment matcher.

Returns:

the comment matcher

getMaxLinesPerRow

public int getMaxLinesPerRow()

Returns the maximum number of lines a row can span.

Returns:

the maximum number of lines a row can span