README

:computer: CSV-Editor:

:speech_balloon: CSV Editor

CSV editor is a tool for viewing and modifying CSV (Comma Separated Values) files, which store data in a plain text, tabular format. While simple text editors can be used, dedicated CSV editors often provide a spreadsheet-like interface, offering features like automated delimiter detection, custom shortcuts, and the ability to handle large files, making data manipulation easier and preventing data corruption. Options range from simple, privacy-focused online tools to robust desktop applications, with some offering advanced features like data analysis, scripting with JavaScript, and even support for massive datasets beyond what traditional spreadsheets can handle.

Multiple-document interface (MDI) is a graphical user interface in which multiple windows reside under a single parent window. Such systems often allow child windows to embed other windows inside them as well, creating complex nested hierarchies. This contrasts with single-document interfaces (SDI) where all windows are independent of each other.

:heavy_check_mark: MDI Advantages

• With multiple-document interfaces (and also tabbed document interfaces), a single menu bar and/or toolbar is shared between all child windows, reducing clutter and increasing efficient use of screen space. This argument is less relevant on an operating system which uses a common menu bar.
• An application's child windows can be hidden/shown/minimized/maximized as a whole.
• Features such as "Tile" and "Cascade" can be implemented for the child windows.
• Authors of cross-platform applications can provide their users with consistent application behaviour between platforms.
• If the windowing environment and OS lack good window management, the application author can implement it themselves.
• Modularity: An advanced window manager can be upgraded independently of the applications.

:x: MDI Disadvantages

• Without an MDI frame window, floating toolbars from one application can clutter the workspace of other applications, potentially confusing users with the jumble of interfaces.
• Can be tricky to implement on desktops using multiple monitors as the parent window may need to span two or more monitors, hiding sections.
• Virtual desktops cannot be spanned by children of the MDI. However, in some cases, this is solvable by initiating another parent window; this is the case in Opera and Chrome, for example, which allows tabs/child windows to be dragged outside of the parent window to start their own parent window. In other cases, each child window is also a parent window, forming a new, "virtual" MDI .
• MDI can make it more difficult to work with several applications at once, by restricting the ways in which windows from multiple applications can be arranged together without obscuring each other.
• The shared menu might change, which may cause confusion to some users.
• MDI child windows behave differently from those in single-document interface applications, requiring users to learn two subtly different windowing concepts. Similarly, the MDI parent window behaves like the desktop in many respects, but has enough differences to confuse some users.
• Deeply nested, branching hierarchies of child windows can be confusing. Many window managers have built-in support for manipulating groups of separate windows, which is typically more flexible than MDI in that windows can be grouped and ungrouped arbitrarily. A typical policy is to group automatically windows that belong to the same application. This arguably makes MDI redundant by providing a solution to the same problem.
• Controls and hotkeys learned for the MDI application may not apply to others, whereas with an advanced Window Manager, more behavior and user preference settings are shared across client applications on the same system

:speech_balloon: CSV Viewer

CSV can be informally described as plain text data consisting of one record per line, where each line has the same sequence of fields separated by a comma. For a simple example:

:speech_balloon: Example

id,name,email
1,John,john.doe@example.com
2,Jane,janey72@test.org

The format is more formally described in the 2005 technical standard RFC 4180 which codifies the CSV format and defines the MIME type text/csv for the handling of text-based fields. Among its requirements:

• A line is terminated per MS-DOS-style: carriage return and line feed (CR/LF) sequence
• A line terminator is optional for the last line
• The data can start with a header record but with no way to test whether the first line is, in fact, a header, care is * required when importing
• Each record should contain the same number of fields
• A field containing a comma, double quote or line terminator character should be enclosed in double quotes
• Any field may be enclosed in double quotes
• If a field is enclosed in double quotes, then a double quote embedded in the field must be represented by a sequence of two double quotes
• A more complex example, with some of the fields enclosed in double quotes, and fields containing special characters (double quotes, line terminators, commas):

Year,Make,Model,Description,Price
1997,Ford,E350,"ac, abs, moon",3000.00
1999,Chevy,"Venture ""Extended Edition""","",4900.00
1999,Chevy,"Venture ""Extended Edition, Very Large""","",5000.00
1996,Jeep,Grand Cherokee,"MUST SELL!
air, moon roof, loaded",4799.00

This example illustrates that a CSV cannot be parsed by naïvely splitting the data by line terminators into lines, and then each line by commas. The above data, when correctly parsed, can be represented as this table:

Common challenges with CSV include:

• Programs may not support line terminator characters within a field even when properly quoted
• Programs may confuse a header line with data or interpret the first data line as a header
• Double quotes in a field may not be parsed correctly

In 2011, Open Knowledge Foundation (OKF) and various partners created a data protocols working group, which later evolved into the Frictionless Data initiative. One of the main formats they released was the Tabular Data Package. Tabular Data package was heavily based on CSV, using it as the main data transport format and adding basic type and schema metadata. (CSV lacks any type information to distinguish the string 1 from the number 1.) The Frictionless Data Initiative has also provided a standard CSV Dialect Description Format for describing different dialects of CSV, for example specifying the field separator or quoting rules.

:wrench: How CSV Editors Work:

• Tabular View: They display CSV data in a visual grid, allowing you to see rows and columns as you would in a spreadsheet.
• File Upload/Selection: You select or upload a CSV file directly into the editor.
• In-Browser Editing: Many online editors allow you to make changes directly within the web browser without needing to download and re-upload the file.
• Delimiter Detection: Editors can automatically identify the separator (e.g., comma, semicolon) used in your file, ensuring the data is displayed and saved correctly.
• Data Export: After editing, you can download the modified data back as a CSV file.

User-Friendly Interface:

• Provides a familiar spreadsheet-like experience for easy data viewing and editing.

Data Integrity:

• Prevents common issues like numerical truncation or unwanted type conversions that can occur in general-purpose applications like Excel.

Efficiency:

• Designed for speed, enabling quick loading and editing of both small and large CSV files.

Customization:

• Some editors allow for custom keyboard shortcuts, UI themes, and cell formatting.

Types of CSV Editors

• Online Editors:
• Datablist.com
• Vizly.ai
• Tablesome
• offer browser-based solutions, often with a focus on privacy and ease of use.