MiniCSV: A Simple C# CSV Parser and Object Deserializer

Alexander Shoulson, Ph.D. - http://ashoulson.com

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A simple library to deserialize CSV files into corresponding C# classes. Expects CSV files to conform to RFC4180 (tested against Excel and Google Sheets exported CSV files).

Usage:

Define a C# class with a tagged constructor, as follows:

  internal class TestData
  {
    public string Name { get; }
    public int Age { get; }
    public float Percent { get; }
    public Color FavoriteColor { get; }

    [CsvConstructor]
    public TestData(
      string name, 
      int age, 
      float percent, 
      Color favoriteColor)
    {
      this.Name = name;
      this.Age = age;
      this.Percent = percent;
      this.FavoriteColor = favoriteColor;
    }
  }

Create/export a CSV with corresponding values. This CSV value must have a header row that matches the object's parameter names (ignoring case, whitespace, and underscores) in the correct order. This behavior can be altered with the hasHeader and validateHeader parameters.

Name,Age,Percent,Favorite Color,
Alice,32,96.4,Blue,
Bob,25,87.3,Red,(Any values after the parameter data columns are ignored)
Charlie,33,50.2,Green,

Then create both a parser and deserializer to parse and produce objects.

  List<TestData> results = new List<TestData>();
  using (StreamReader reader = File.OpenText(path))
  {
    CsvDeserializer<TestData> deserializer =
      new CsvDeserializer<TestData>(new CsvParser(reader));
    while (deserializer.TryProduce(out TestData output))
      results.Add(output);
  }