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0 pointshn_throwaway_992y ago0 comments

> The first time we came across CSV format we likely typed it in notepad by hand.

Again, I'm not saying CSVs aren't edited by hand in a text editor, I'm saying they aren't created from scratch in a text editor, even by beginners. USVs are easy to edit in a text editor, too, and I tried viewing and editing USVs with a couple different fonts and had no problems.

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iainmerrick2y ago

If the separators can't easily be typed, how do you add a new cell?

scbrg2y ago

Nobody can type up a GIF image, or Word document in a Notepad, yet files of both those formats exist. The answer obviously is tooling. If a format with sane separators was common, so would editors that could edit that format be.

iainmerrick2y ago

I was responding to the GP's:

USVs are easy to edit in a text editor

I don't see how that's the case.

If a format with sane separators was common, so would editors that could edit that format be

Sure, but that's a hypothetical future editor, not something that currently exists.

Edit to add: I also disagree with "sane" in that context. New separators won't solve anything. You'll always need escaping/encoding/encapsulation; get that right and everything else follows. JSON is comma-separated and does just fine.

hn_throwaway_99OP2y ago

Copy and paste.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 pointshn_throwaway_992y ago0 comments

> The first time we came across CSV format we likely typed it in notepad by hand.

0 comments

iainmerrick2y ago

If the separators can't easily be typed, how do you add a new cell?

scbrg2y ago

iainmerrick2y ago

I was responding to the GP's:

USVs are easy to edit in a text editor

I don't see how that's the case.

If a format with sane separators was common, so would editors that could edit that format be

Sure, but that's a hypothetical future editor, not something that currently exists.

hn_throwaway_99OP2y ago

Copy and paste.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse