CSV spec and the failure that is MSDN

[MisterX]

Welcome to Windows!

It might be easiest to write a vbs exporter to correct their
crap... I would search in that direction first. 

Second option: use tab file export or DBF (I think DBF is uppercase 
ASCII data but i might be wrong). 

Moft sux in exporting data - they've never had any any or any
consistency at all for crossplatformness - in the very least. 

But a bit of vbs would be the way to go.
You can invoke vbs or wsh (windows scripting host) with the
shell and just type your scripts in a stack. 

There's also export options if I remember in excel. Access I avoid 
az muuuch az pazeebel. Crapware warning.

Dont use msdn, use technet.microsoft.com! ;)

cheerios man!
Xav

I use RunRev to evade Windows daily!


> -----Original Message-----
> From: use-revolution-bounces at lists.runrev.com 
> [mailto:use-revolution-bounces at lists.runrev.com] On Behalf Of 
> Richard Gaskin
> Sent: Friday, December 03, 2004 22:43
> To: How to use Revolution
> Subject: CSV spec and the failure that is MSDN
> 
> Anyone know where I can find the official spec for the CSV 
> formats used by Micro$oft Access, Micro$oft Excel, and the 
> the spec used by the rest of the world?
> 
> All three differ from one another, and according to some 
> Micro$oft has changed how CSV is implemented in Excel at 
> least once, maybe twice, so it would be good to find 
> historical specs as well.
> 
> So far the best I can find is this page:
> <http://www.lazy8.nu/doc/exportoptions.en.html#standardspecification>
> 
> Nice, but doesn't cover the change, nor Access at all, and if 
> from a third party so I have no way to know how current or 
> thorough it is.  At least with Micro$oft-published specs I 
> can point customers to the source if they have a problem.
> 
> Some of the differences include how/whether returns, tabs, 
> commas, and quotes are escaped.  For example, some programs 
> output CSV with quotes escaped with \q, and others with \", 
> and others with "".  Fun eh?  And that's just the beginning.
> 
> I've tried looking through MSDN, but everytime I try to use 
> that archaic search engine I get more headaches than results.
> 
> If any of you know the secret recipe to finding how Microsoft 
> defines CSV in its products I'd be much obliged.
> 
> --
>   Richard Gaskin
>   Fourth World Media Corporation
>   __________________________________________________
>   Rev tools and more: http://www.fourthworld.com/rev 
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