What is CSV?

CSV (Comma-Separated Values) is a simple file format for storing tabular data. Each line is a row; fields are separated by commas (or semicolons in some locales). CSV has no formal standard—variations exist for delimiters, quoting, and escaping. Widely used for data export, spreadsheets, and data interchange. CSV does not support types or nested structures. When values contain commas, they are typically wrapped in quotes. UTF-8 is the common encoding.