CSV generation having problem with ','

Question

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PHP code to convert a MySQL query to CSV

Hi I am generating a csv file from mysql record seperated by "," comma. I fetch data from database and concate it in a string. I am using following code

for($i=0;$i<count($all_logs);$i++)
        {
            $rd=$project->fetchRow($project->select()->where('id='.$all_logs[$i]->user2project_id));
            $username=$userid->fetchRow($userid->select()->where('id='.$all_logs[$i]->user_id));
            $outstr .=$all_logs[$i]->log_date.",";
            $outstr .=$username->username.",";
            $outstr .=$rd->title.",";
            $outstr .=$all_logs[$i]->task.",";
            $outstr .=$all_logs[$i]->workdesc.",";
            $outstr .=$all_logs[$i]->hours.",";
            $outstr .="\n";
        }
        return $outstr;

Now what is my problem. If any column data is itself is having a " ," comma then it splits this 1 column to 2 columns. For example if my column workdesc is having data like this I worked on this,that,these and those then it will put this 1 column to 3 columns in generted csv. Any body can tell me how can I escape from this situation......

score 7 · Answer 1 · answered Apr 01 '11 at 10:58

7

In order to construct a CSV file, you should not use strings concatenations.

Instead, you should use the fputcsv() function -- and if you do not want to scrite to a file, but get a string as a result, take a look at the users notes, in which you'll find several possible solutions ;-)

Using that function, you will not have to deal with escaping the enclosure nor delimiter yourself : all this will already be done for you.

answered Apr 01 '11 at 10:58

Pascal MARTIN

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Here is altough an good example for this: http://tumblr.com/xz41vh6uiz – opHASnoNAME Apr 01 '11 at 11:03
one great answer I saw for fputcsv, for anybody who wants to see an example: http://stackoverflow.com/a/13474770/702420 – dave Dec 01 '16 at 20:02

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Apr 01 '11 at 10:58

2

You have to put values in quotes something like this

$outstr .='"'.$username->username.'",'; //output ://"somvalue contain , comma"

Apply this format on all the data columns and that's it.

answered Apr 01 '11 at 10:58

Shakti Singh

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Thanks dude... This was exactly what I was wanting – Awais Qarni Apr 01 '11 at 11:12
Beware: If your text now has `"` in it, you need to replace that with `""`. Neverending love of CSV. – ZeissS Apr 01 '11 at 11:41
@ZeissS: No need to replace what `htmlspecialchars` for `htmlspecialchars($data,ENT_QUOTES)` – Shakti Singh Apr 01 '11 at 11:43

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Apr 01 '11 at 10:58

1

If the column data itself has comma, then you should use double quotes to escape it.

example if your columndata = "some,data"; then your csv should look like -

col1,col2,"some,data",col4

So better have double quotes enclosed for your column data.

answered Apr 01 '11 at 10:58

Sachin Shanbhag

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CSV generation having problem with ','

3 Answers3