Re: [EXTERNAL] Importing data from a spreadsheet to a PF

On Tue, Aug 16, 2022 at 3:57 PM Brad Stone <bvstone@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On Tue, Aug 16, 2022 at 2:52 PM Greg Wilburn <
gwilburn@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

1. If it is CSV, DO NOT ever open it with Excel - it trashes the data

Hmm... I've not seen this before. I don't use CSVs a lot, but when I
double click them Excel (from Office 365) seems to open them just fine.

There is a lot of nuance when talking about CSVs. Different people
have different ideas of what the rules for CSV should be. By some
people's rules, yeah, Excel "trashes" the data. It also doesn't
produce CSVs that fit their rules in the first place.

Most people these days acknowledge that Excel is one of the standard
tools in the business, like it or hate it, and the path of least
resistance is to just follow Excel's rules.

Also, if you need to handle arbitrary input (i.e. not input that you
have control over) then it really doesn't make sense to roll your own.
Use an established, battle-tested CSV library. The one that comes with
Python is great. I am sure there are others.

John Y.