Csv Ruby Reference Documentation
CkCsv
Current Version: 10.1.2
A class for reading and updating CSV files. Provides methods for accessing cell contents by name or index, updating cells, reading and setting column names, etc.
Object Creation
obj = Chilkat::CkCsv.new()
Properties
AutoTrim
boolVal = csv.get_AutoTrim();
csv.put_AutoTrim(boolVal);
If true, then the strings returned by GetCell and GetCellByName are auto-trimmed of whitespace from both ends.
topCrlf
boolVal = csv.get_Crlf();
csv.put_Crlf(boolVal);
If true, then CRLF line endings are used when saving the CSV to a file or to a string (i.e. for the methods SaveFile, SaveFile2, SaveToString). If false then bare LF line-endings are used.
topDebugLogFilePath
# ckStr is a CkString
csv.get_DebugLogFilePath(ckStr);
strVal = csv.debugLogFilePath();
csv.put_DebugLogFilePath(strVal);
If set to a file path, this property logs the LastErrorText of each Chilkat method or property call to the specified file. This logging helps identify the context and history of Chilkat calls leading up to any crash or hang, aiding in debugging.
Enabling the VerboseLogging property provides more detailed information. This property is mainly used for debugging rare instances where a Chilkat method call causes a hang or crash, which should generally not happen.
Possible causes of hangs include:
- A timeout property set to 0, indicating an infinite timeout.
- A hang occurring within an event callback in the application code.
- An internal bug in the Chilkat code causing the hang.
Delimiter
# ckStr is a CkString
csv.get_Delimiter(ckStr);
strVal = csv.delimiter();
csv.put_Delimiter(strVal);
The character that separates fields in a record. It is a comma by default. If the Delimiter property is not explicitly set, the CSV component will detect the delimiter when loading a CSV. (Semicolons are typically used in locales where the comma is used as a decimal point.)
Note 1: If the default comma delimiter is not desired when creating a new CSV, make sure to set this property before adding rows/columns to the CSV.
Note 2: If the application explicitly sets the delimiter to the vertical bar character ("|"), and if the EnableQuotes property was never explicitly set, then EnableQuotes will default to false. This is because when vertical bars are used, quotes are most likely to be treated the same as other characters.
topEnableQuotes
boolVal = csv.get_EnableQuotes();
csv.put_EnableQuotes(boolVal);
If true, then the double-quote characters cause the quoted content, including CR's, LF's, and delimiter chars to be treated as normal text when reading/writing CSVs. The default is true.
EscapeBackslash
boolVal = csv.get_EscapeBackslash();
csv.put_EscapeBackslash(boolVal);
If true, then the backslash character is treated as an escape character when reading/writing CSVs. The default is false.
topHasColumnNames
boolVal = csv.get_HasColumnNames();
csv.put_HasColumnNames(boolVal);
Set to true prior to loading a CSV if the 1st record contains column names. This allows the CSV parser to correctly load the column names and not treat them as data.
LastErrorHtml
# ckStr is a CkString
csv.get_LastErrorHtml(ckStr);
strVal = csv.lastErrorHtml();
Provides HTML-formatted information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.
topLastErrorText
# ckStr is a CkString
csv.get_LastErrorText(ckStr);
strVal = csv.lastErrorText();
Provides plain text information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.
LastErrorXml
# ckStr is a CkString
csv.get_LastErrorXml(ckStr);
strVal = csv.lastErrorXml();
Provides XML-formatted information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.
topLastMethodSuccess
boolVal = csv.get_LastMethodSuccess();
csv.put_LastMethodSuccess(boolVal);
Indicates the success or failure of the most recent method call: true means success, false means failure. This property remains unchanged by property setters or getters. This method is present to address challenges in checking for null or Nothing returns in certain programming languages.
topNumColumns
intVal = csv.get_NumColumns();
The number of columns in the 1st row, which may be the row containing column names if HasColumnNames is true.
topNumRows
intVal = csv.get_NumRows();
The number of data rows. If the CSV has column names, the 1st row is not included in the count. Also, empty lines containing only whitespace characters that follow the last non-empty row are not included.
topUncommonOptions
# ckStr is a CkString
csv.get_UncommonOptions(ckStr);
strVal = csv.uncommonOptions();
csv.put_UncommonOptions(strVal);
This is a catch-all property to be used for uncommon needs. Chilkat may from time to time define keywords, which if present, change behavior in some way. If multiple keywords are needed, set this property to the comma separated list of keywords.
The following keywords are defined:
- QuotedCells (v9.5.0.96) Forces all cell contents to be double-quoted when emitting the CSV to a file or string
- QuotedColumnNames (v9.5.0.96) Forces all column names to be double-quoted when emitting the CSV to a file or string
- EMIT_BOM (v9.5.0.93) Causes Chilkat to emit the utf-8 BOM (byte order mark) when writing the CSV to a file (assuming the CSV is written using utf-8).
Utf8
boolVal = csv.get_Utf8();
csv.put_Utf8(boolVal);
When set to true, all "const char *" arguments are interpreted as utf-8 strings. If set to false (the default), then "const char *" arguments are interpreted as ANSI strings. Also, when set to true, and Chilkat method returning a "const char *" is returning the utf-8 representation. If set to false, all "const char *" return values are ANSI strings.
topVerboseLogging
boolVal = csv.get_VerboseLogging();
csv.put_VerboseLogging(boolVal);
If set to true, then the contents of LastErrorText (or LastErrorXml, or LastErrorHtml) may contain more verbose information. The default value is false. Verbose logging should only be used for debugging. The potentially large quantity of logged information may adversely affect peformance.
topVersion
Methods
DeleteColumn
status = csv.DeleteColumn(index);
Deletes the Nth column. (The 1st column is at index 0.)
Returns true for success, false for failure.
DeleteColumnByName
status = csv.DeleteColumnByName(columnName);
Deletes a column specified by name.
Returns true for success, false for failure.
DeleteRow
status = csv.DeleteRow(index);
Deletes the entire Nth row. (The 1st row is at index 0.)
Returns true for success, false for failure.
GetCell
# col is an integer
# outStr is a CkString (output)
status = csv.GetCell(row, col, outStr);
retStr = csv.getCell(row, col);
Returns the contents of the cell at row, col. Indexing begins at 0. (The topmost/leftmost cell is at 0,0)
Returns true for success, false for failure.
GetCellByName
# columnName is a string
# outStr is a CkString (output)
status = csv.GetCellByName(rowIndex, columnName, outStr);
retStr = csv.getCellByName(rowIndex, columnName);
The same as GetCell, but the column is specified by name instead of by index.
Returns true for success, false for failure.
GetColumnName
# outStr is a CkString (output)
status = csv.GetColumnName(index, outStr);
retStr = csv.getColumnName(index);
Returns the name of the Nth column.
Returns true for success, false for failure.
GetIndex
retInt = csv.GetIndex(columnName);
Returns the column index for a given column. Returns -1 if no column exists with the columnName.
topGetNumCols
retInt = csv.GetNumCols(row);
Returns the number of columns for a specific row. If the row is larger than the number of rows in the CSV, a zero is returned.
topInsertColumn
status = csv.InsertColumn(index);
Inserts a new and empty column before the Nth column. (The 1st column is at index 0.)
Returns true for success, false for failure.
LoadFile
status = csv.LoadFile(path);
Loads a CSV from a file. It is assumed that the CSV file contains ANSI characters.
Returns true for success, false for failure.
topLoadFile2
# charset is a string
status = csv.LoadFile2(filename, charset);
Loads a CSV from a file. The charset specifies the character encoding of the CSV file. A list of supported character encodings may be found on this page: Supported Charsets.
Returns true for success, false for failure.
LoadFromString
status = csv.LoadFromString(csvData);
Loads a CSV document from an in-memory string variable.
Returns true for success, false for failure.
RowMatches
# matchPattern is a string
# caseSensitive is a boolean
retBool = csv.RowMatches(rowIndex, matchPattern, caseSensitive);
Compares the contents of an entire row to a wildcarded match pattern where "*" can be used any number of times to match 0 or more of any character. Returns true if a match was found, otherwise returns false. If caseSensitive is true, then the pattern match is case sensitive, otherwise it is case insensitive.
topSaveFile
status = csv.SaveFile(path);
Saves a CSV to a file. The output file is written using the ANSI character encoding.
Returns true for success, false for failure.
topSaveFile2
# charset is a string
status = csv.SaveFile2(filename, charset);
Saves a CSV to a file. The charset specifies the character encoding to use for the CSV file. The text data is converted to this charset when saving. A list of supported character encodings may be found on this page: Supported Charsets.
Returns true for success, false for failure.
SaveToSb
Clears the contents of sb and writes the entire CSV into sb.
Returns true for success, false for failure.
topSaveToString
SetCell
# col is an integer
# content is a string
status = csv.SetCell(row, col, content);
Sets the contents for a single cell in the CSV. The content may include any characters including CRLF's, double-quotes, and the delimiter character. The Save* methods automatically double-quote fields with special chars when saving. The Load* methods automatically parse double-quoted and/or escaped fields correctly when loading.
Returns true for success, false for failure.
SetCellByName
# columnName is a string
# contentStr is a string
status = csv.SetCellByName(rowIndex, columnName, contentStr);
The same as SetCell, except the column is specified by name instead of by index.
Returns true for success, false for failure.
SetColumnName
# columnName is a string
status = csv.SetColumnName(index, columnName);
Sets the name of the Nth column. The first column is at index 0. This method would only return false if an invalid index is passed (such as a negative number).
Returns true for success, false for failure.
SortByColumn
# ascending is a boolean
# caseSensitive is a boolean
status = csv.SortByColumn(columnName, ascending, caseSensitive);
Sorts the rows in the CSV by the contents of a specific column. If ascending is true, the sort is in ascending order, otherwise descending order. If caseSensitive is true then the sorting is case sensitive.
Returns true for success, false for failure.
topSortByColumnIndex
# ascending is a boolean
# caseSensitive is a boolean
status = csv.SortByColumnIndex(index, ascending, caseSensitive);
Sorts the rows in the CSV by the contents of a specific column index. If ascending is true, the sort is in ascending order, otherwise descending order. If caseSensitive is true then the sorting is case sensitive.
Returns true for success, false for failure.
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