Is anyone happy with csv module?

J. Clifford Dyer jcd at sdf.lonestar.org
Wed Dec 12 11:49:20 EST 2007
On Wed, Dec 12, 2007 at 10:08:38AM -0600, je.s.te.r at hehxduhmp.org wrote regarding Re: Is anyone happy with csv module?:
> 
> FWIW, CSV is a much more generic format for spreadsheets than XLS.
> For example, I deal almost exclusively in CSV files for simialr situations
> as the OP because I also work with software that can't (or in some
> cases "can't easily") deal with XLS files.  CSV files can be read in
> by basically anything.

Compatibility-wise, yes, CSV is much more generic.  But spreadsheet != ledger paper.  Spreadsheets incorporate many functions (as simple as summation!) that CSV cannot handle.  Thus functionality-wise CSV is infact a very specific subset of spreadsheets, and is not generic in the slightest.

But the software you are dealing with probably doesn't actually need spreadsheets.  It just needs digital ledgers.

Cheers,
Cliff



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