<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
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Documentation for LCL (Lazarus Component Library) and LazUtils (Lazarus 
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Copyright (c) 1997-2023, by the Lazarus Development Team.

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<fpdoc-descriptions>
<package name="lazutils">
<!--
====================================================================
lcsvutils
====================================================================
-->
<module name="lcsvutils">
<short>
Contains routines used to read and process Comma-separated values from a file 
or a stream.
</short>
<descr>
<p>
<file>lcsvutils.pas</file> contains routines used to read and process 
Comma-separated values from a file or a stream. It is used in the 
implementation of the <file>LazUtils</file> package and the <var>TGrid</var> 
component.
</p>
<p>
<file>lcsvutils.pas</file> is part of the <file>LazUtils</file> package.
</p>
</descr>

<!-- procedure type Visibility: default -->
<element name="TCSVRecordProc">
<short>Defines a procedure used to process field values.</short>
<descr>
<p>
<var>TCSVRecordProc</var> defines a nested procedure type used when reading 
and processing delimited field values. A TCSVRecordProc reference is passed 
as an argument to the <var>LoadFromCSVFile</var> and 
<var>LoadFromCSVStream</var> routines. Applications must create a procedure 
that performs actions required when a line of data has been read from its 
source and separated into individual field values.
</p>
<p>
The Fields argument is a TStringList instance which contains the field values 
converted and parsed in the calling routine. Each field value exists on a 
separate line in the Fields argument. A field with no value is represented as 
an empty line in the TStringList instance.
</p>
<p>
An application must implement a procedure using the signature in 
TCSVRecordProc, and pass its address as an argument to the LoadFromCSVFile or 
LoadFromCSVStream routine. The procedure is responsible for performing any 
actions needed for the values in Fields.
</p>
</descr>
<seealso>
<link id="LoadFromCSVFile"/>
<link id="LoadFromCSVStream"/>
</seealso>
</element>
<element name="TCSVRecordProc.Fields">
<short>TStringList used to store comma-separated field values.</short>
</element>

<element name="TCSVEncoding">
<short>Represents character encodings used for values in CSV data.</short>
<descr>
<p>
<var>TCSVEncoding</var> is an enumerated type which represents character 
encodings used for CSV data. A value from the enumeration can be passed as an 
argument to the <var>LoadFromCSVFile</var> and <var>LoadFromCSVStream</var> 
routines.
</p>
<p>
A value from the enumeration is passed as an argument to the LoadFromCSVFile 
and LoadFromCSVStream routines. It identifies the character encoding for the 
byte values read from the data source, and determines the actions needed to 
convert the byte values to the UTF-8 encoding needed for the String type.
</p>
</descr>
<seealso>
<link id="LoadFromCSVFile"/>
<link id="LoadFromCSVStream"/>
</seealso>
</element>
<element name="TCSVEncoding.ceAuto">
<short>Auto-detects character encoding applied to the CSV data.</short>
</element>
<element name="TCSVEncoding.ceUTF8">
<short>CSV data uses the UTF-8 encoding.</short>
</element>
<element name="TCSVEncoding.ceUTF16">
<short>CSV data uses the UTF-16 encoding.</short>
</element>
<element name="TCSVEncoding.ceUTF16be">
<short>CSV data uses the UTF-16 Big-Endian encoding.</short>
</element>

<element name="LoadFromCSVStream">
<short>
Loads and processes comma-separated values from the specified stream.
</short>
<descr>
<p>
<var>LoadFromCSVStream</var> is a procedure used to read and process 
delimited values from the stream specified in <var>AStream</var>.
</p>
<p>
The procedure name is actually a misnomer; the routine uses the value in 
<var>ADelimiter</var> as the delimiter between field values. It does not have 
to be a Comma (,) character. Comma is, however, the default value for the 
ADelimiter argument.
</p>
<p>
LoadFromCSVStream reads lines of data from the stream, and calls nested 
routines to handle character encodings for the byte values. Each line is 
terminated with one or more line-ending characters (#13, #10).
</p>
<remark>
The position in AStream is <b>not</b> maintained in the routine. Processing 
is started using the stream position on entry. The stream position on exit is 
after the last line of text successfully processed from the stream, and is 
normally at the end of the stream.
</remark>
<p>
The value in <var>CSVEncoding</var> indicates the encoding for the byte 
values read from the stream. <var>ceAuto</var> is the default value for the 
argument, and indicates that the encoding is auto-detected in the routine 
using the BOM (Byte Order Mark) at the beginning of the processed byte 
values. The nested routines convert non-UTF-8 encodings to the UTF-8 encoding 
needed for the native String type.
</p>
<p>
Leading spaces in a line of text read from the stream are discarded. Field 
values in the line of text can be enclosed in Quotation (") marks if the 
delimiter character appears in the field content. Nested Quotation marks are 
allowed when used in a balanced pair.
</p>
<p>
LoadFromCSVStream calls the procedure passed in the <var>AProc</var> argument 
to process and apply each delimited field value from the line of text read 
from the stream. Field values are stored in a TStringList instance that is 
passed as argument to the routine in AProc. An application must implement the 
procedure passed in the argument to perform any actions needed for the field 
values.
</p>
<p>
No actions are performed in LoadFromCSVStream when AProc has not been 
assigned.
</p>
<p>
Use the <var>LoadFromCSVFile</var> procedure to process delimited values in a 
specified file name.
</p>
<p>
LoadFromCSVStream is called from the <var>LoadFromCSVFile</var> routine, and 
used in the implementation of the LoadFromCSVFile and LoadFromCSVStream 
methods in <var>TCustomStringGrid</var>. For database-aware applications, 
consider the <var>TCSVDataset</var> class found in the 
<file>csvdataset</file> unit from the FCL; also available on the Data Access 
tab for the Lazarus IDE component palette.
</p>
</descr>
<seealso>
<link id="LoadFromCSVFile"/>
<link id="TCSVEncoding"/>
<link id="TCSVRecordProc"/>
<link id="#lcl.grids.TCustomStringGrid.LoadFromCSVFile">TCustomStringGrid.LoadFromCSVFile</link>
<link id="#lcl.grids.TCustomStringGrid.LoadFromCSVStream">TCustomStringGrid.LoadFromCSVStream</link>
</seealso>
</element>
<element name="LoadFromCSVStream.AStream">
<short>TStream instance containing the CSV data.</short>
</element>
<element name="LoadFromCSVStream.AProc">
<short>Routine used to load and process lines in the CSV data.</short>
</element>
<element name="LoadFromCSVStream.ADelimiter">
<short>Delimiter used to separate fields in the CSV data.</short>
</element>
<element name="LoadFromCSVStream.CSVEncoding">
<short>Character encoding used for the CSV data.</short>
</element>

<element name="LoadFromCSVFile">
<short>
Loads and processes comma-separated values from the specified file.
</short>
<descr>
<p>
<var>LoadFromCSVFile</var> is a procedure used to read and process delimited 
values from the file specified in the <var>AFilename</var> argument.
</p>
<p>
The procedure name is actually a misnomer; the routine uses the value in 
<var>ADelimiter</var> as the delimiter between field values. It does not have 
to be a Comma (,) character. Comma is, however, the default value for the 
ADelimiter argument.
</p>
<p>
LoadFromCSVFile reads lines of data from the file, and converts the encoded 
byte values to fields which are processed and applied using the procedure in 
<var>AProc</var>. Internally, it creates a temporary <var>TFileStream</var> 
instance for the specified file name. The <var>LoadFromCSVStream</var> 
routine is called to read and apply the content using the arguments in 
<var>AProc</var>, <var>ADelimiter</var>, and <var>CSVEncoding</var>.
</p>
<p>
See <link id="#lazutils.lcsvutils.LoadFromCSVStream">LoadFromCSVStream</link> 
for more information about the arguments passed to the routine, and how the 
procedure is implemented.
</p>
</descr>
<seealso>
<link id="LoadFromCSVStream"/>
<link id="TCSVEncoding"/>
<link id="TCSVRecordProc"/>
</seealso>
</element>
<element name="LoadFromCSVFile.aFilename">
<short>File name which contains the CSV data.</short>
</element>
<element name="LoadFromCSVFile.AProc">
<short>Routine used to load and process lines in the CSV data.</short>
</element>
<element name="LoadFromCSVFile.ADelimiter">
<short>Delimiter used to separate fields in the CSV data.</short>
</element>
<element name="LoadFromCSVFile.CSVEncoding">
<short>Character encoding used for the CSV data.</short>
</element>

</module>
<!-- lcsvutils -->

</package>
</fpdoc-descriptions>
