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pythoncsvquotation-marks

Python CSV : field containing quotation mark at the beginning

I am trying to read a CSV file containing a line like following:

test,"test,"test,test,test,test

There is a problem with the quotation marks (There are six fields, but they are retrieved as five fields, as "test,"test is read as a single field).

I have tried modifying the entry as follows, but I still can't retrieve the quotation mark:

test,""test,""test,test,test,test  # quotation marks disappear when the entry is read.

test,\"test,\"test,test,test,test  # backslashes are also retrieved; escaping doesn't seem to work.

I'm reading CSV file this way:

info_source = csv.reader(open('.info.csv'), skipinitialspace=True)

for row in ling_info_source:
    data = row[1].strip()
    ...
Solution

  • By default " is the quoting character of Python's csv module. Use

    csv.reader(open('.info.csv'), skipinitialspace=True, quotechar=None)

    to disable this default. The example you gave will result in the record

    ['test', '"test', '"test', 'test', 'test', 'test']