CSV for data to be displayed simply

CSV is a very versatile format. It can handle large amounts of data and content can be easily transferred between different programmes. In addition, CSV is often of great relevance in the areas of bookkeeping and accounting. CSV means Comma Separated Values and stands for different values which are separated by a comma.

The defining criterion regarding the appearance of a CSV file are commas. However, individual values can also be separated with spaces, inverted commas, tabs, line breaks or semicolons. In a clear presentation like a table, a comma becomes a column or another data field. The CSV file extension is "csv". The CSV format is suitable for data that needs to be presented in a simple way.

The first line of a CSV file takes on a special meaning when it is converted into a table. It then normally becomes the header line, which names the individual columns. For this reason, it is advisable to format it after importing, which is also recognised by the programme into which the CSV file is transferred. Usually Excel and other common database systems do not take over the formatting or the structure that was previously carried out in CSV.

CSV files can be used to map a large amount of data to be displayed simply. This can be financial statistics, product data or customer relations of a company. Lists or tables can be easily created from a CSV file.

Data records are often transferred from a CSV format to Excel or similar. In many cases, CSV files can also be imported into existing databases such as MySQL or Oracle. This is particularly useful when different data sources are combined into a single database. This can be useful when merging companies.

Carefully created CSV files can also be used to import transactions via banks into another programme. This is particularly practical when business transactions in a company are strongly linked to a financial transaction.