[CSV] Re: First Cut at CSV PEP

[Andrew McNamara]

>I think it is important to keep in mind the users of the module who
>are not expert in the various dialects of CSV.  If presented with a
>flat list of all options supported they are going to engage in a fair
>amount of head scratching.
>
>If we try to make things easier for users by mirroring the options
>that their application presents then they are going to have a much
>easier time working out how to use the module for their specific
>problem.  By limiting the available options based upon the dialect
>specified by the user we will be doing them a favour.
>
>The point of the 'raw' dialect is to expose the full capabilities of
>the raw parser.  Maybe we should use None rather than 'raw'.

My feeling is that this simply changes the shape of the complexity
without really helping.

I think we should just stick with the "a dialect is a set of defaults"
idea.

>Hmm...  What would be the best way to handle Excel TSV.  Maybe a new
>dialect 'excel-tsv'?

When saving, Excel97 calls this "Text (Tab delimited)", so maybe
"excel-tab" would be clear enough. CSV is "CSV (Comma delimited)".

On import, it seems to just guess what the file is - I couldn't see a way
under Excel97 to specify.

>I am not saying that the wrapper should absolutely prevent someone
>from using options not available in the application.  If you want to
>break the dialect then maybe it should be a two step process.
>
>    csvwriter = csv.writer(file("newnastiness.csv", "w"),
>                           dialect='excel2000')
>    csvwriter.setparams(delimiter='"')

This strikes me as B&D.

-- 
Andrew McNamara, Senior Developer, Object Craft
http://www.object-craft.com.au/