J3/05-253 To: J3 From: Richard Maine Subject: Specs for CSV Date: 5 Sep 2005 This paper proposes specifications for the CSV feature (comma-separated value) first described in 05-108r1. The feature shall be controlled by a new changeable mode. It has a default, which may be overridden by an OPEN statement specifier. It may be temporarily changed by a specifier in a data transfer statement. A likely name for the specifier is separator=, but that is a syntax question not committed by this paper. Staw vote. Should there also be an edit descriptor to change it? The mode applies only to formatted I/O. It is allowed for all access methods and for internal files. The mode shall have possible values of default, blank, comma, or semicolon. The mode affects list-directed and namelist output formatting, but nothing else. (Might as well do namelist for consistency; that part can optionally be deleted from the specification.) If the mode has the value default, formatting is as specified in f2003. If the mode has any of the other values, list-directed and namelist output formatting are changed in the following ways. 1. The specified separator is used to separate values. 2. Straw vote. For comma and semicolon, should we still allow the processor to optionally add blanks before or after the comma or semicolon? 3. If the mode is anything other than default, the r* form of repeating output values is disallowed. 4. If the mode is anything other than default, the processor must not start new records in list-directed or namelist output.