CSV 1.1 - Comma Separated (Named) Values, Version: 1.1

CSV Evolved (for Humans) - Easy-to-Write, Easy-to-Read

ID,Name,Code,Area,Pop
ca,Canada,CAN,9984670,34278406
us,United States,USA,9629091,314167157
mx,México [Mexico],MEX,1972550,112322757
...

vs

#####################
# North America

# area (in sq km), pop(ulation)

ca, Canada,          CAN,   9 984 670 km²,  34 278 406
us, United States,   USA,   9 629 091 km², 314 167 157
mx, México [Mexico], MEX,   1 972 550 km², 112 322 757
...

(Source: world.db/north-america/countries.txt)

Or

ID,Name,Capital,Area,Tags
bc,British Columbia,Victoria,922509,en|western canada
ab,Alberta,Edmonton,640082,en|western canada|prairies
mb,Manitoba,Winnipeg,552330,en|western canada|prairies
sk,Saskatchewan,Regina,588239,en|western canada|prairies
nb,New Brunswick,Fredericton,71377,en|fr|eastern canada|atlantic canada|maritimes
ns,Nova Scotia,Halifax,52939,en|eastern canada|atlantic canada|maritimes
pe,Prince Edward Island,Charlottetown,5686,en|eastern canada|atlantic canada|maritimes
nl,Newfoundland and Labrador,St. John's,370511,en|eastern canada|atlantic canada
...

vs

###########################
# Oh, Canada! 10 provinces and 3 territories
#
# see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provinces_and_territories_of_Canada
#
# note: key is two-letter canadian postal code
#
# for regions tags see
#   en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_regions_of_Canada


bc, British Columbia,       Victoria,     922 509 km², en|western canada

ab, Alberta,                Edmonton,       640 082 km², en|western canada|prairies
mb, Manitoba,               Winnipeg,       552 330 km², en|western canada|prairies
sk, Saskatchewan,           Regina,         588 239 km², en|western canada|prairies

nb, New Brunswick,            Fredericton,    71 377 km², en|fr|eastern canada|atlantic canada|maritimes
ns, Nova Scotia,              Halifax,        52 939 km², en|eastern canada|atlantic canada|maritimes
pe, Prince Edward Island,     Charlottetown,   5 686 km², en|eastern canada|atlantic canada|maritimes
nl, Newfoundland and Labrador,  St. John's,   370 511 km², en|eastern canada|atlantic canada
...

(Source: world.db/master/north-america/ca-canada/regions.txt)

Design Principles

• Evolving and working with real-world datasets and code ;-). "Eat your own dog food".
• The long long view. 10 years. 20 years. 30 years. 100 years. Text is forever ;-)

Easy-to-write. Less (typing) is better.

• No quotes needed for values, that is, write Halifax. Requiring quotes e.g. "Halifax" or 'Halifax' is a no-no.

Easy-to-read.

• Comments, comments, comments.
• Use space (freely) to format (beautify) your records, that is, bc, British Columbia, Victoria is the same as bc,British Columbia,Victoria.
• Blank lines.

Human. Practical (time-proven) alternatives for quotes and multi-line values.

• Use dual quotes e.g. "..." or '...'.
• Use here documents e.g. <<TXT ... TXT for multi-line values.
• Use triple quotes e.g. """...""" or '''...''' for multi-line values or mixed quote escaping.

Human. Options. Options. Options.

• No required fixed number of fields for records.
• Use single-line or multi-line records.
• Use "classic" values "by position" or named values (e.g. city: Halifax).

Conventions. Let the computer help you (auto-)fill-in values.

• Auto-generate record ids from names / titles.
• Optional "front matter" block with defaults / fallbacks (e.g. country: Canada).

Backwards-Compatible. It's just "vanilla" CSV.

• "Pre-processor" converts "modern" CSV 1.1 to "vanilla" CSV 1.0.

License

The CSV 1.1 format and conventions are dedicated to the public domain. Use it as you please with no restrictions whatsoever.

Questions? Comments?

Send them along to the wwwmake mailing list/forum. Thanks