Description
Serialize a supplied table using a sampled dialect and quoting policy, retaining actual sniffer ambiguity and an optional guaranteed single-column ambiguous control.
CSV stores records as delimited text fields. Quoting can protect embedded delimiters and newlines, so a record need not equal one physical line. Cleaning field contents, interpreting their types, and preserving an exact import/export round trip are separate operations.
Serialize a supplied table using a sampled dialect and quoting policy, retaining actual sniffer ambiguity and an optional guaranteed single-column ambiguous control.
When to use this tool
Use this generator to create reproducible csv delimiter detection quiz cases from the supplied model or bank. Inspect the returned evidence before using cases in a test or exercise.
How to use the tool and how it works
- Supply rows, delimiters, quoteAll, includeAmbiguous in the field shapes below. Set seed when you need an explicit replay.
- Run the tool and correct any input error. For generated controls, distinguish a successful fixture containing an invalid case from failure to generate the fixture.
- Read cases. Use the conventions below. Keep answer-bearing fields separate when presenting an exercise.
Choose one source delimiter, serialize the supplied rectangular rows, and delegate comma/semicolon/tab detection. Optionally add a fully quoted single-column control to remove delimiter evidence even when its text contains alternative separators.1
Delegated operations used for this result: delimiter sniffer comma semicolon tab. Their calculation or parsing conventions apply to the corresponding result fields.2
| Input field | Meaning and units | Accepted input |
|---|---|---|
| rows | Rows | Required. Array of Array of Text; maximum UTF-16 length 64.; minimum items 1; maximum items 8.; minimum items 1; maximum items 32. |
| delimiters | Delimiters | Required. Array of Text; one of ",", ";", "\t".; minimum items 1; maximum items 3. |
| quoteAll | Quote All | Required. Boolean. |
| includeAmbiguous | Include Ambiguous | Required. Boolean. |
| seed | Optional numeric seed; takes precedence over context randomness. Without either, use the fixed tool.io default seed. | Optional. Safe integer. |
| Output field | Interpretation | Returned shape |
|---|---|---|
| cases | Cases | Required. Array of Object; no unknown keys.; minimum items 1; maximum items 2. |
| cases[].csv | Csv | Required. Text; maximum UTF-16 length 100000. |
| cases[].sourceDelimiter | Source Delimiter | Required. Text; one of ",", ";", "\t". |
| cases[].singleColumnControl | Single Column Control | Required. Boolean. |
| cases[].detection | Detection | Required. Object; no unknown keys. |
| cases[].detection.delimiter | Delimiter | Required. Text. |
| cases[].detection.ambiguous | Ambiguous | Required. Boolean. |
| cases[].detection.candidates | Candidates | Required. Array of Object; no unknown keys.. |
| cases[].detection.candidates[].delimiter | Delimiter | Required. Text. |
| cases[].detection.candidates[].modalWidth | Modal Width | Required. Safe integer. |
| cases[].detection.candidates[].matchingRecords | Matching Records | Required. Safe integer. |
| cases[].detection.candidates[].recordCount | Record Count | Required. Safe integer. |
| randomness | Replay source and normalized 32-bit seed, or null seed for an advancing context source. | Required. Object; no unknown keys. |
| randomness.seed | Optional safe-integer replay seed; normalization and precedence are explained below. | Required. Safe integer. or Null. |
| randomness.source | Source | Required. Text; one of "context", "seed". |
An explicit safe-integer seed takes precedence over injected context randomness and is normalized to an unsigned 32-bit integer. With no seed and no context source, replay uses the fixed tool.io default seed. A context source must return finite values from zero inclusive to one exclusive; its advancing state must be retained separately. randomness records the source and normalized seed, or null for context. These generators are not cryptographic random sources.
{
"input": {
"rows": [
[
"a",
"b"
],
[
"c",
"d"
]
],
"delimiters": [
",",
";"
],
"quoteAll": false,
"includeAmbiguous": true,
"seed": 42
},
"output": {
"cases": [
{
"csv": "a;b\nc;d",
"sourceDelimiter": ";",
"singleColumnControl": false,
"detection": {
"delimiter": ";",
"ambiguous": false,
"candidates": [
{
"delimiter": ";",
"modalWidth": 2,
"matchingRecords": 2,
"recordCount": 2
}
]
}
},
{
"csv": "\"a\"\n\"c\"",
"sourceDelimiter": ";",
"singleColumnControl": true,
"detection": {
"delimiter": "",
"ambiguous": true,
"candidates": []
}
}
],
"randomness": {
"seed": 42,
"source": "seed"
}
}
}Limitations and assumptions
- The known source delimiter can be ambiguous from the serialized text. Detection is a heuristic result, not guaranteed recovery of writer settings; sourceDelimiter is the construction answer.
- A replay requires the same complete input and implementation. The stated sampling convention applies within its eligible space. A finite draw does not exhaust all possible outputs; repeats remain possible unless a distinct-selection rule is explicit.
- The field tables state structural bounds; cross-field constraints and bounded search or output budgets also apply. Unknown keys are rejected where the object contract disallows them. Input errors are distinct from null fields and deliberate invalid controls in a successful output.
Alternative or Complementary methods
For a supplied example, inspect the returned construction or delegated check directly. To evaluate a consumer, also test cases chosen for its own boundaries; a generated finite corpus does not establish exhaustive coverage.
References
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