.csv File — Comma-Separated Values

CSV (Comma-Separated Values) is one of the oldest and most universal data exchange formats in computing. CSV files store tabular data as plain text, with each row on a separate line and column values separated by commas (or sometimes semicolons, tabs, or other delimiters depending on locale). Fields containing commas, newlines, or quotes are enclosed in double quotes. The format's extreme simplicity is its greatest strength — virtually every spreadsheet application, database system, programming language, and data analysis tool can read and write CSV files. CSV lacks standardization for encoding, data types, or metadata, which can lead to compatibility issues with international characters, date formats, and numeric precision. RFC 4180 provides a common definition but is not universally followed. CSV files are extensively used for data import/export, log files, financial data feeds, scientific datasets, and as an interchange format between incompatible systems. Their plain-text nature makes them easy to inspect, debug, and process with command-line tools.