Re: The impact of data format selection on application development

On Sun, Jul 10, 2022 at 10:54 AM Roger L Costello <[email protected]>
wrote:

> Michael Kay quite correctly noted that the specification of my
> hypothetical data format is incomplete. Please, allow me to add a sentence
> or two to address its inadequacies:
>
> The data format consists of lines (lines are strings that are typically
> separated by newlines, although the user may use a symbol other than
> newline, if desired). Each line contains fields. Fields are ASCII strings.
> Fields are separated by a delimiter (common delimiters include the tab,
> space, or comma symbol, although the user is free to use another symbol if
> desired). Fields may contain the field delimiter symbol provided the symbol
> is preceded by a backslash symbol (this is called "escaping the symbol").
> Fields may be empty. Each line has the same number of fields.
>
> Admittedly, those additions do result in using more ink to specify the
> data format. Nonetheless, it is a far cry from the dense 36 pages of the
> XML specification plus the 16 pages of the namespace specification. I think
> the data format can be fully understood in less than 30 seconds. Contrast
> with gaining a full understanding of the XML data format, which may take
> months or even years.
>
> Thanks for the comments Michael!
>
> /Roger
>
>
So do you think reading and comprehending the  CSV technical standard RFC
is a prerequisite for using a CSV representation for a simple piece of
data?