You really do want to use a library to parse CSV since there are a number of corner cases. For example, your example code may not read a whole row since rows can have newlines in them.
Right… you absolutely need to use a library. I’ve written the parsers for CSV which handle the edge cases (at least RFC edge cases). But I don’t want to include a library to be able to do it. Most of my scripts are small, and adding libraries makes them more difficult to move around. So, I shy away from CSV as a format as a result.
I’m okay with not allowing new lines and tabs in my fields. It’s a valid trade off for my data.
Yes, many of my scripts are Python, but not all, so adding new libraries for different languages is more difficult for me to remember as opposed to just splitting a line by a record separator.
Also, many of my files require having comments in the file’s header. Another reason why CSV can’t be easily used, as this isn’t part of the RFC.
> Most of my scripts are small, and adding libraries makes them more difficult to move around. So, I shy away from CSV as a format as a result.
The CSV library I speak of is part[0] of the python standard library. Unless you're working with a restricted subset of the language or something it should have no impact on the size of your script or its portability between platforms/locations.