CSVs Won't Die: The Cockroach of Data Formats
CSV files are like cockroaches - they stick around forever. After 50 years, we still use them everywhere. While people keep making new ways to store data, the simple CSV file keeps working.
Why They Started, Why They Stayed
CSVs are super simple. Back when computers were new, people needed an easy way to share lists between different programs. So they wrote their data in plain text, with commas between each item. That's all! You could open it anywhere. You could print it. You could email it. It worked on every computer. Because it was so simple, everyone started using it.
Over time, people made small improvements to help CSVs work better. But the main idea stayed the same - just text with commas. This made CSVs perfect for sharing data between different groups. When a bank needs to send numbers to a store, they use CSV. When an old computer needs to talk to a new one, CSV works. Anyone can open it and fix it, even late at night when something goes wrong.
Why Other Formats Didn't Win
Many newer ways to store data tried to replace CSV:
XML was too complicated - like using a huge truck to carry a small box.
Stop fighting with CSV edge cases
...ImportCSV handles encoding, delimiters, and format issues automatically.
JSON works great for websites but not for big lists of data. It takes up too much space.
Newer Formats (like Parquet) are super fast but need special tools to open them. You can't just email them to someone who only has basic programs like Excel.
Why CSVs Keep Working
CSVs work best when different systems need to share data. Think about when:
- Someone needs to open the data in Excel
- A bank needs to share data with a store
- You need to quickly move data when systems break
- You don't know what programs the other person has
It's like how fax machines still exist - they might seem old, but they solve real problems.
Why They're Hard to Replace
The more people use something, the harder it is to replace. CSVs are everywhere:
- Almost every program can read them
- Billions of files already use this format
- Everyone knows how to use them
Each new person who uses CSVs makes them even harder to replace.
What CSVs Teach Us
CSV's success shows us important things about technology:
- Simple beats fancy
- Being able to read the data matters
- "Good enough" usually wins
- Making different systems work together is really important
CSVs are like cockroaches because they survive and adapt. They're not perfect - they're just good enough and easy to use. That's why they solve real problems.
To replace CSVs, something new would need to be just as easy to use AND faster AND better in every way. That's really hard to do. So for now, CSVs will keep helping us share data while newer formats do the heavy lifting behind the scenes.