csv-column-checker

A command-line tool to check for completely empty columns in CSV files.

Overview

csv-column-checker is a simple, cross-platform utility that analyzes CSV files and identifies columns where all data entries are empty (i.e., contain no non-whitespace characters). It adheres to the Unix philosophy of doing one thing well, providing a straightforward way to validate CSV data integrity.

Features

• Identifies Empty Columns: Accurately detects columns with no data beyond the header row.
• Custom Delimiter: Supports specifying a custom column delimiter (defaults to comma).
• Column Name Output: Optionally outputs the names of the empty columns instead of their indices.
• Clear Error Reporting: Provides informative error messages for common issues like missing files or invalid delimiters.
• Unix Philosophy: Designed to be used in command-line pipelines, with appropriate exit codes for success and failure.
• Cross-Platform: Works on Linux, macOS, and Windows.
• Well-Tested: Includes comprehensive unit and integration tests to ensure reliability.

Installation

1. Prerequisites: Go 1.20 or later must be installed.

2. Download and Install:

   go install github.com/deadpyxel/csv-column-checker@latest

   Make sure your $GOPATH/bin or $HOME/go/bin directory is in your system's $PATH to access the csv-column-checker executable.

Usage

csv-column-checker -file <csv_file> [options]

Options

• -file <csv_file>: (Required) The path to the CSV file to check.
• -delimiter <delimiter>: (Optional) The column delimiter. Defaults to , (comma).
• -names: (Optional) Output the column names instead of indices.
• -version: (Optional) Show the version number and exit.

Examples

1. Check a CSV file with the default delimiter:

   csv-column-checker -file data.csv

2. Check a CSV file with a semicolon delimiter:

   csv-column-checker -file data.csv -delimiter ";"

3. Output the names of the empty columns:

   csv-column-checker -file data.csv -names

Exit Codes

• 0: Success. No completely empty columns were found.
• 1: Error or empty columns found. The tool will print an error message to stderr, or the list of empty columns to stdout.

Usage in Pipelines

You can use csv-column-checker in shell pipelines to automate CSV validation. For example:

csv-column-checker -file data.csv | grep "Empty columns" && echo "Validation Failed" || echo "Validation Passed"

Contributing

Contributions are welcome!

Please read our Code of Conduct and Contributing Guidelines for instructions in how to proceed.

Development

Building from Source

go build -o csv-column-checker

Running Tests

go test

Running Benchmarks

go test -bench=.