csharp-csv-reader

This library is a series of unit tested, thoroughly commented CSV parsing functions which I have developed off and on since 2006. Extremely small and easy to implement; includes unit tests for the majority of odd CSV edge cases. Library supports different delimiters, qualifiers, and embedded newlines. Can read and write from data tables.

Why use CSharp CSV Reader?

A few reasons:

• Compatible with DotNet Framework / C# 2.0 and later. Makes it easy to integrate this library into extremely old legacy projects.
• Between 16-32 kilobytes in size, depending on framework.
• No dependencies.
• Handles all the horrible edge cases from poorly written CSV generating software: custom delimiters, embedded newlines, and doubled-up text qualifiers.
• Reads via streams, optionally using asynchronous I/O. You can parse CSV files larger than you can hold in memory without thrashing.

Tutorial

Want to get started? Here are a few walkthroughs.

Custom CSV Settings

Do you have files that use the pipe symbol as a delimiter, or does your application need double quotes around all fields? No problem!

var settings = new CSVSettings() { FieldDelimiter = '|', TextQualifier = '\'', ForceQualifiers = true }; s = array.ToCSVString(settings);

Streaming asynchronous CSV

The latest asynchronous I/O frameworks allow you to stream CSV data off disk without blocking. Here's how to use the asynchronous I/O features of Dot Net 5.0:

using (var cr = CSVReader.FromFile(filename, settings)) { await foreach (string[] line in cr) { // Do whatever you want with this one line - the buffer will // only hold a small amount of memory at once, so you can // iterate at your own pace! } }