Inserting blank line in csv using java

Question

I want to insert a blank line in csv using java. I have written following code:

CSVFormat csvFileFormat = CSVFormat.DEFAULT.withRecordSeparator("\n").withEscape('\\');
FileWriter fileWriter = new FileWriter(csvFile);

CSVPrinter csvFilePrinter = new CSVPrinter(fileWriter,csvFileFormat);

csvFilePrinter.printRecord("data1");
csvFilePrinter.printRecord("\n");
csvFilePrinter.printRecord("data2");

When I open this generated CSV in notepad++, I am getting 2 blank lines:

 data1
 " 
 "
 data2

How can I get a single blank line?

A single blank line between data is not valid CSV. How would you parse that? — OneCricketeer
– OneCricketeer, Commented Mar 21, 2018 at 13:21
And don't think of that output as "two blank lines", you're getting one "Record" that's a newline character surrounded by quotes — OneCricketeer
– OneCricketeer, Commented Mar 21, 2018 at 13:23

Federico klez Culloca · Accepted Answer · 2018-03-21 14:04:15Z

3

printRecord prints a record separator after the data, in this case a newline.

Then you print a newline which is printed as a string containing another newline, which gives you those two double quotes on separate lines.

Just remove the one that prints a newline or, if you really want that empty line, use csvFilePrinter.println() which will output the record separator (in your case, "\n").

edited Mar 21, 2018 at 14:04

answered Mar 21, 2018 at 13:23

Federico klez Culloca

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2 Comments

OneCricketeer Over a year ago

Removing it doesn't create a single blank line in the output, as asked, though

OneCricketeer Over a year ago

CSVFormat has an option to ignore blank lines though

Daniel R. · Accepted Answer · 2018-03-21 15:48:27Z

2

Try ~~csvFilePrinter.printRecord("");~~ csvFilePrinter.println(); printRecord will escape the line automatically. You do not need an additional escape character.

edited Mar 21, 2018 at 15:48

answered Mar 21, 2018 at 13:22

Daniel R.

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2 Comments

OneCricketeer Over a year ago

This would still put two quotes on a single line, no?

Radhika Kulkarni Over a year ago

Yes.. "" are still present at the blank line

Sergey Prokofiev · Accepted Answer · 2018-03-21 14:00:59Z

1

I guess replacing csvFilePrinter.printRecord("\n"); with csvFilePrinter.println(); does the job. println() will output lines separator, so you will get completely empty line without quotes.

Hope it helps!

edited Mar 21, 2018 at 14:00

answered Mar 21, 2018 at 13:22

Sergey Prokofiev

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3 Comments

OneCricketeer Over a year ago

This would still put two quotes on a single line, no?

Radhika Kulkarni Over a year ago

This worked.. But as @cricket_007 said I am getting following output: data1 "" data 2

Sergey Prokofiev Over a year ago

@RadhikaKulkarni, I've updated my answer after your clarification.

Sentry · Accepted Answer · 2018-03-21 13:28:03Z

0

You define the CSVFilePrinter with

CSVFormat.DEFAULT.withRecordSeparator("\n")

so for each record an additional \n will be appended. You then print three records: "data1", "\n", "data2"

This will results in "data1\n\n\ndata2\n", which is exactly the result you get.

Just replace the second record with "".

answered Mar 21, 2018 at 13:28

Sentry

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2 Comments

Radhika Kulkarni Over a year ago

I agree with your logic. I have 1 question. Why " is displayed at those blank lines?

Sentry Over a year ago

@RadhikaKulkarni You're right, I can't explain that. I thought that you just wanted to emphasize the empty lines. Is it a single double quote (") or two single quotes ('')? In the latter case, this might be to denote an empty value

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