csv files (with quoted commas) and awk - UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

Cranie · #1 08-08-2007

I have a file as follows:

Code:

1,"This is field 2",3,4,5
2,"This is field 2 it can contain one , comma",3,4,5
3,"This is field 2 it also, can, contain, more",3,4,5
4,"This is field 2 without extra commas",3,4,5

and i pass this through to awk:

Code:

            awk -F, ' {
                if ( $3 == "3" ) {
                    print $0
                }
            } ' file

The output I currently get is:

Code:

1,"This is field 2",3,4,5
4,"This is field 2 without extra commas",3,4,5

but in this instance all rows should display. So my question is:

How can i get awk to split the file on commas but ignore any commas when they are within double quotes (there could be more description fields than just the one, this is the first data extract we have done from Discovery).

Thanks

robotronic · #2 08-08-2007

Try this...

Code:

awk -F'"' '{
   line="";
   for (i=1; i<=NF; i++) {
      if (i != 2) line=line $i;
   }

   split(line, v, ",")
   if (v[3] == "3") {
      print;
   }
} ' file

...but I've the feeling that it can be done in a better and more elegant way

manas_ranjan · #3 08-08-2007

hey Robo,

U want to display the bold lines also as o/p ,
1,"This is field 2",3,4,5
2,"This is field 2 it can contain one , comma",3,4,5
3,"This is field 2 it also, can, contain, more",3,4,5
4,"This is field 2 without extra commas",3,4,5

if the field 3 is of value 3 ???

Cranie · #4 08-08-2007

Robotronic's way works.. many thanks...

Basically we have an export from an application where description fields can contain any characters. Currently on the third column this is defined as enabled, if the value is 3 we keep the record, if anything else we disregard it. As in my initial example if i just did a test on the third field in awk (using -F, as the delimeter) then in row 2 the third field would be "comma", in 3 it would be "can". So would get excluded when they should be included.

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