Seems like there are always HN commenters lambasting CSV. I am sure they have very good reasons.
But, as for me, CSV is one of my favorite formats. (Sort of like how people like XML or JSON I guess.) I like the limitations of CSV because I like simple, raw data.
I wish the de facto format that www servers delivered was CSV instead of HTML (for reason why, see below). Or at least I wish there was an option to receive pages in CSV in addition to HTML.
Users could create their own markup, client side. Users could effectively use their "spreadsheet software" to read the information on the www. Or they could create infinitely creative presentations of data for themselves or others using HTML5 or some other tool of personal expression.
It is easy to create HTML from CSV but I find it is a nuisance creating CSV from HTML.
Because I have a need for CSV I write scanners with flex to convert HTML to CSV.
I often wonder why I cannot access all the data I need from the www in CSV format. Many have agreed over the years that the www needs more structure to be more valuable as a data source. If data is first created in CSV, then you have some inherent structure to build on; you can _use it_ to create markup and add infinite creativity without destroying the underlying structure.
If data (cf. art or forms of personal expression) cannot be presented in CSV then is it really raw data or is it something else, more subjective and unwieldy?
Seems like there are always HN commenters lambasting CSV. I am sure they have very good reasons.
But, as for me, CSV is one of my favorite formats. (Sort of like how people like XML or JSON I guess.) I like the limitations of CSV because I like simple, raw data.
I wish the de facto format that www servers delivered was CSV instead of HTML (for reason why, see below). Or at least I wish there was an option to receive pages in CSV in addition to HTML.
Users could create their own markup, client side. Users could effectively use their "spreadsheet software" to read the information on the www. Or they could create infinitely creative presentations of data for themselves or others using HTML5 or some other tool of personal expression.
It is easy to create HTML from CSV but I find it is a nuisance creating CSV from HTML.
Because I have a need for CSV I write scanners with flex to convert HTML to CSV.
I often wonder why I cannot access all the data I need from the www in CSV format. Many have agreed over the years that the www needs more structure to be more valuable as a data source. If data is first created in CSV, then you have some inherent structure to build on; you can _use it_ to create markup and add infinite creativity without destroying the underlying structure.
If data (cf. art or forms of personal expression) cannot be presented in CSV then is it really raw data or is it something else, more subjective and unwieldy?
Whatever. Back to reality. Pay no mind.