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multiple double quotes in a field corrupts CSV file #192

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sizezero opened this issue Oct 5, 2018 · 2 comments
Open

multiple double quotes in a field corrupts CSV file #192

sizezero opened this issue Oct 5, 2018 · 2 comments

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@sizezero
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sizezero commented Oct 5, 2018

Please provide a general summary of the issue in the Issue Title above
fill out the headings below as applicable to the issue you are reporting,
deleting as appropriate but offering us as much detail as you can to help us resolve the issue

If a user places a single double quote in a cell then it is correctly escaped e.g.
word " word
==>
"word "" word"

But if multiple double quotes exist then only the first one is escaped

word " word " word " word
==>
"word "" word " word " word"

We would expect each of the double quotes to be escaped as follows
"word "" word "" word "" word"

I have only tested this on the Linux version so the behavior may be different in the other versions.

I know this project is dead (no code commits in a year) but I think this tool still has a large user base. If this problem isn't fixed then a warning should be put on the home page indicating that the tool can silently corrupt CSV files.

FYI. I found this tool by reviewing many different CSV editors for my organization. This tool beat other in terms of transparency (available code), simplicity and support for multiple platforms (including Linux). I was heartbroken when I found this bug because there's no good second choice. I'm not sure we'll be able to use Data Curator as it has no Linux version.

@langphil
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langphil commented Oct 5, 2018

Hello @sizezero.

As you've correctly pointed out, development for this tool is no longer happening.

However, there is a tool called 'Data Curator', that was inspired by 'Comma Chameleon', that is receiving ongoing development. Can I suggest that you look at it as an option.

It can be found here - https://github.com/ODIQueensland/data-curator

@sizezero
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sizezero commented Oct 5, 2018

Thanks. I had previously looked at Data Curator. There's no downloadable linux version and I haven't had a chance to build a linux version so I haven't run the program yet.

I didn't expect this bug to be fixed in Comma Chameleon but the effect is bad enough that I think you should consider warning your remaining users, perhaps via a note on the home page. Silent file corruption is awful.

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