Class CSVParser

  • All Implemented Interfaces:
    Closeable, AutoCloseable, Iterable<CSVRecord>

    public final class CSVParser
    extends Object
    implements Iterable<CSVRecord>, Closeable
    Parses CSV files according to the specified format. Because CSV appears in many different dialects, the parser supports many formats by allowing the specification of a CSVFormat. The parser works record wise. It is not possible to go back, once a record has been parsed from the input stream.

    Creating instances

    There are several static factory methods that can be used to create instances for various types of resources:

    Alternatively parsers can also be created by passing a Reader directly to the sole constructor. For those who like fluent APIs, parsers can be created using CSVFormat.parse(java.io.Reader) as a shortcut:

     for(CSVRecord record : CSVFormat.EXCEL.parse(in)) {
         ...
     }
     

    Parsing record wise

    To parse a CSV input from a file, you write:

     File csvData = new File("/path/to/csv");
     CSVParser parser = CSVParser.parse(csvData, CSVFormat.RFC4180);
     for (CSVRecord csvRecord : parser) {
         ...
     }
     

    This will read the parse the contents of the file using the RFC 4180 format.

    To parse CSV input in a format like Excel, you write:

     CSVParser parser = CSVParser.parse(csvData, CSVFormat.EXCEL);
     for (CSVRecord csvRecord : parser) {
         ...
     }
     

    If the predefined formats don't match the format at hands, custom formats can be defined. More information about customising CSVFormats is available in CSVFormat Javadoc.

    Parsing into memory

    If parsing record wise is not desired, the contents of the input can be read completely into memory.

     Reader in = new StringReader("a;b\nc;d");
     CSVParser parser = new CSVParser(in, CSVFormat.EXCEL);
     List<CSVRecord> list = parser.getRecords();
     

    There are two constraints that have to be kept in mind:

    1. Parsing into memory starts at the current position of the parser. If you have already parsed records from the input, those records will not end up in the in memory representation of your CSV data.
    2. Parsing into memory may consume a lot of system resources depending on the input. For example if you're parsing a 150MB file of CSV data the contents will be read completely into memory.

    Notes

    Internal parser state is completely covered by the format and the reader-state.

    See Also:
    package documentation for more details
    • Constructor Detail

      • CSVParser

        public CSVParser​(Reader reader,
                         CSVFormat format)
                  throws IOException
        Customized CSV parser using the given CSVFormat

        If you do not read all records from the given reader, you should call close() on the parser, unless you close the reader.

        Parameters:
        reader - a Reader containing CSV-formatted input. Must not be null.
        format - the CSVFormat used for CSV parsing. Must not be null.
        Throws:
        IllegalArgumentException - If the parameters of the format are inconsistent or if either reader or format are null.
        IOException - If there is a problem reading the header or skipping the first record
      • CSVParser

        public CSVParser​(Reader reader,
                         CSVFormat format,
                         long characterOffset,
                         long recordNumber)
                  throws IOException
        Customized CSV parser using the given CSVFormat

        If you do not read all records from the given reader, you should call close() on the parser, unless you close the reader.

        Parameters:
        reader - a Reader containing CSV-formatted input. Must not be null.
        format - the CSVFormat used for CSV parsing. Must not be null.
        characterOffset - Lexer offset when the parser does not start parsing at the beginning of the source.
        recordNumber - The next record number to assign
        Throws:
        IllegalArgumentException - If the parameters of the format are inconsistent or if either reader or format are null.
        IOException - If there is a problem reading the header or skipping the first record
        Since:
        1.1
    • Method Detail

      • parse

        public static CSVParser parse​(File file,
                                      Charset charset,
                                      CSVFormat format)
                               throws IOException
        Creates a parser for the given File.
        Parameters:
        file - a CSV file. Must not be null.
        charset - The Charset to decode the given file.
        format - the CSVFormat used for CSV parsing. Must not be null.
        Returns:
        a new parser
        Throws:
        IllegalArgumentException - If the parameters of the format are inconsistent or if either file or format are null.
        IOException - If an I/O error occurs
      • parse

        public static CSVParser parse​(InputStream inputStream,
                                      Charset charset,
                                      CSVFormat format)
                               throws IOException
        Creates a CSV parser using the given CSVFormat.

        If you do not read all records from the given reader, you should call close() on the parser, unless you close the reader.

        Parameters:
        inputStream - an InputStream containing CSV-formatted input. Must not be null.
        charset - The Charset to decode the given file.
        format - the CSVFormat used for CSV parsing. Must not be null.
        Returns:
        a new CSVParser configured with the given reader and format.
        Throws:
        IllegalArgumentException - If the parameters of the format are inconsistent or if either reader or format are null.
        IOException - If there is a problem reading the header or skipping the first record
        Since:
        1.5
      • parse

        public static CSVParser parse​(Path path,
                                      Charset charset,
                                      CSVFormat format)
                               throws IOException
        Creates and returns a parser for the given Path, which the caller MUST close.
        Parameters:
        path - a CSV file. Must not be null.
        charset - The Charset to decode the given file.
        format - the CSVFormat used for CSV parsing. Must not be null.
        Returns:
        a new parser
        Throws:
        IllegalArgumentException - If the parameters of the format are inconsistent or if either file or format are null.
        IOException - If an I/O error occurs
        Since:
        1.5
      • parse

        public static CSVParser parse​(Reader reader,
                                      CSVFormat format)
                               throws IOException
        Creates a CSV parser using the given CSVFormat

        If you do not read all records from the given reader, you should call close() on the parser, unless you close the reader.

        Parameters:
        reader - a Reader containing CSV-formatted input. Must not be null.
        format - the CSVFormat used for CSV parsing. Must not be null.
        Returns:
        a new CSVParser configured with the given reader and format.
        Throws:
        IllegalArgumentException - If the parameters of the format are inconsistent or if either reader or format are null.
        IOException - If there is a problem reading the header or skipping the first record
        Since:
        1.5
      • parse

        public static CSVParser parse​(String string,
                                      CSVFormat format)
                               throws IOException
        Creates a parser for the given String.
        Parameters:
        string - a CSV string. Must not be null.
        format - the CSVFormat used for CSV parsing. Must not be null.
        Returns:
        a new parser
        Throws:
        IllegalArgumentException - If the parameters of the format are inconsistent or if either string or format are null.
        IOException - If an I/O error occurs
      • parse

        public static CSVParser parse​(URL url,
                                      Charset charset,
                                      CSVFormat format)
                               throws IOException
        Creates and returns a parser for the given URL, which the caller MUST close.

        If you do not read all records from the given url, you should call close() on the parser, unless you close the url.

        Parameters:
        url - a URL. Must not be null.
        charset - the charset for the resource. Must not be null.
        format - the CSVFormat used for CSV parsing. Must not be null.
        Returns:
        a new parser
        Throws:
        IllegalArgumentException - If the parameters of the format are inconsistent or if either url, charset or format are null.
        IOException - If an I/O error occurs
      • getCurrentLineNumber

        public long getCurrentLineNumber()
        Returns the current line number in the input stream.

        ATTENTION: If your CSV input has multi-line values, the returned number does not correspond to the record number.

        Returns:
        current line number
      • getFirstEndOfLine

        public String getFirstEndOfLine()
        Gets the first end-of-line string encountered.
        Returns:
        the first end-of-line string
        Since:
        1.5
      • getHeaderMap

        public Map<String,​Integer> getHeaderMap()
        Returns a copy of the header map.

        The map keys are column names. The map values are 0-based indices.

        Note: The map can only provide a one-to-one mapping when the format did not contain null or duplicate column names.

        Returns:
        a copy of the header map.
      • getHeaderNames

        public List<String> getHeaderNames()
        Returns a read-only list of header names that iterates in column order.

        Note: The list provides strings that can be used as keys in the header map. The list will not contain null column names if they were present in the input format.

        Returns:
        read-only list of header names that iterates in column order.
        Since:
        1.7
        See Also:
        getHeaderMap()
      • getRecordNumber

        public long getRecordNumber()
        Returns the current record number in the input stream.

        ATTENTION: If your CSV input has multi-line values, the returned number does not correspond to the line number.

        Returns:
        current record number
      • getRecords

        public List<CSVRecord> getRecords()
                                   throws IOException
        Parses the CSV input according to the given format and returns the content as a list of CSVRecords.

        The returned content starts at the current parse-position in the stream.

        Returns:
        list of CSVRecords, may be empty
        Throws:
        IOException - on parse error or input read-failure
      • isClosed

        public boolean isClosed()
        Tests whether this parser is closed.
        Returns:
        whether this parser is closed.
      • stream

        public Stream<CSVRecord> stream()
        Returns a sequential Stream with this collection as its source.
        Returns:
        a sequential Stream with this collection as its source.
        Since:
        1.9.0