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CSV Profiles
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Fluent API for profile configuration

Cédric L. Charlier
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The PocketCsvReader.Configuration namespace provides CsvReaderBuilder and DialectDescriptorBuilder classes to configure and create a CSV reader for processing CSV files. These classes offer a fluent API to customize the behavior of a CSV reader, including delimiter characters, line terminators, quoting behavior, and more.

Class CsvReaderBuilder

The CsvReaderBuilder class provides a fluent interface to configure and create a CsvReader instance using a custom CsvDialectDescriptor.

Dialect descriptor

The CsvReaderBuilder allows you to specify a DialectDescriptor using the WithDialectDescriptor method and then build a CsvReader using the Build method.

Usage of CsvReaderBuilder

  1. Initialization:

    var csvReaderBuilder = new CsvReaderBuilder();

  2. Configuring the Descriptor: Use the WithDialectDescriptor method to provide a configuration function that modifies the DialectDescriptorBuilder.

    var csvReader = new CsvReaderBuilder()
    .WithDialectDescriptor(builder => builder
        .WithDelimiter(';')
        .WithLineTerminator("\r\n")
        .WithQuoteChar('"')
        .WithHeader(true))
    .Build();

  3. Building the CSV Reader: Call the Build method to create a CsvReader instance configured with the specified dialect.

    var csvReader = csvReaderBuilder.Build();

Class DialectDescriptorBuilder

The DialectDescriptorBuilder class allows you to configure a CSV dialect descriptor that defines the structure and rules for parsing CSV files.

Usage of DialectDescriptorBuilder

  1. Initialization:

    var builder = new DialectDescriptorBuilder();

  2. Method Chaining to Configure the Descriptor:

    var descriptor = new DialectDescriptorBuilder()
    .WithDelimiter(';')
    .WithLineTerminator("\r\n")
    .WithQuoteChar('"')
    .WithDoubleQuote(true)
    .WithEscapeChar('\\')
    .WithNullSequence("NULL")
    .WithSkipInitialSpace(true)
    .WithHeader(true)
    .Build();

  3. Build the Descriptor: Call the Build method to retrieve the configured CsvDialectDescriptor object:

    var descriptor = builder.Build();

Available Methods of DialectDescriptorBuilder

Method Description
WithDelimiter(char delimiter) Sets the delimiter character used in the CSV.
WithLineTerminator(string line) Sets the line terminator (e.g., "\r\n" for Windows or "\n" for Unix).
WithQuoteChar(char quoteChar) Sets the character used for quoting fields.
WithoutQuoteChar() Unsets the quote character used in the CSV.
WithDoubleQuote(bool doubleQuote) Enables or disables double quoting for fields containing special characters.
WithoutDoubleQuote() Disables double quoting (same as calling WithDoubleQuote(false)).
WithEscapeChar(char escapeChar) Sets the escape character used in the CSV.
WithoutEscapeChar() Unsets the escape character used in the CSV.
WithNullSequence(string? nullSeq) Defines a sequence used to represent null values in the CSV.
WithoutNullSequence() Removes the null sequence (same as calling WithNullSequence(null)).
WithSkipInitialSpace(bool skip) Enables or disables skipping spaces after the delimiter.
WithoutSkipInitialSpace() Disables skipping spaces (same as calling WithSkipInitialSpace(false)).
WithHeader(bool header) Enables or disables the inclusion of a header row.
WithoutHeader() Disables headers (same as calling WithHeader(false)).
WithHeaderRows(int[] rows) Enables headers and set the indexes of header rows.
WithHeaderJoin(string join) Set the string to join fields from different rows to create the header.
WithCommentChar(char commentChar) Sets the character used to denote comments in the CSV.
WithCommentRows(int[] rows) Set the indexes of comment rows.
WithCaseSensitiveHeader(bool cs) Enables or disables case sensitivity for header fields.
WithCsvDdfVersion(string version) Sets the version of the CSV DDF (Data Definition Format).
Basic usage of the library
Span mapper and object builder
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Related Docs

Getting Started
CSV Profiles
Usage