Comma-Separated Values File (CSV)

comma-separated values file (CSV) - In computers, a CSV (comma-separated values) file contains the values in a table as a series of ASCII text lines organized so that each column value is separated by a comma from the next column's value and each row starts a new line. Here's an example:

   Doe,John,944-7077 Johnson,Mary,370-3920 Smith,Abigail,299-3958 (etc.) 

A CSV file is a way to collect the data from any table so that it can be conveyed as input to another table-oriented application such as a relational database application. Microsoft Excel, a leading spreadsheet or relational database application, can read CSV files. A CSV file is sometimes referred to as a flat file.

Related glossary terms: relational database, database management system (DBMS), OLE DB (OLEDB or Object Linking and Embedding Database), flat file, information, full-text database, distributed database management system (DDBMS), relational database management system (RDBMS)

[Category=Data Management ]

Source: WhatIs.com, 14 July 2013 09:03:11, http://whatis.techtarget.com/glossary/Data-and-Data-Management