Reading a CSV file in C and dealing with commas in the data

Since quotes are used for the title field when it contains commas, I suggest you check to see if the " has been used. If so, use that delimiter for the first item.

char *field; if(buff[0] == '"') { field = strtok(buff, "\""); } else { field = strtok(buff, ","); } 

The first one will leave a comma as the first character of the next field, but the next strtok will filter that off, since it does not allow "empty" fields.

The function strtok does not suit your needs, because it considers the quotation marks as characters like any other. Therefore, when strtok sees a comma, it won't care whether the comma is inside quotation marks or not.

Also, as someone else pointed out in the comments section, another problem with strtok is that it skips empty fields.

Therefore, I do not recommend using strtok for what you want to do.

In order to solve your problem, I recommend that you write your own function that does something very similar to strtok and strsep, but if the first non-whitespace character is a quotation mark, it considers the next quotation mark as the delimiter instead of the next comma. In the code below, I named this function my_strsep.

Here is an example:

#include <stdio.h> #include <stdlib.h> #include <ctype.h> #define NUM_LINES 2 //this function is equivalent to the POSIX function "strsep", except //that it always uses "," as a delimiter, unless the first //non-whitespace character is a quotation mark, in which case it //skips the quotation mark and uses the next quotation mark as a //delimiter, also consuming the next comma char *my_strsep( char **restrict stringp ) { char *p = *stringp; char *start; char delimiter = ','; //do nothing if *stringp is if ( *stringp == NULL ) return NULL; //skip all whitespace characters while ( isspace( (unsigned char)*p ) ) p++; //remember start of field start = p; //determine whether this field uses quotation marks if ( *p == '"' ) { //set delimiter to quotation mark instead of comma delimiter = '\"'; //skip the first quotation mark p++; } //remember the start of the string start = p; while ( *p != delimiter ) { if ( *p == '\0' ) { if ( delimiter == '\"' ) { fprintf( stderr, "Warning: Encountered end of string before the " "second quotation mark!\n" ); } //pass information back to calling function *stringp = NULL; return start; } p++; } //overwrite the delimiter with a null character *p = '\0'; //go past the delimiter p++; //skip the comma too, if quotation marks are being used if ( delimiter == '\"' ) { //skip all whitespace characters while ( isspace( (unsigned char)*p ) ) p++; //skip the comma if ( *p == ',' ) p++; } //pass information back to calling function *stringp = p; return start; } int main( void ) { char lines[NUM_LINES][200] = { "\"The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe\",PlayStation 2,8,2005", "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian,Wireless,5,2008" }; for ( int i = 0; i < NUM_LINES; i++ ) { char *p, *q; printf( "Processing line #%d:\n", i + 1 ); p = lines[i]; while ( ( q = my_strsep( &p ) ) != NULL ) { printf( "Found field: %s\n", q ); } printf( "\n" ); } } 

This program has the following output:

Processing line #1: Found field: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe Found field: PlayStation 2 Found field: 8 Found field: 2005 Processing line #2: Found field: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian Found field: Wireless Found field: 5 Found field: 2008 

As you can see, the function my_strsep can handle fields both with and without quotation marks.

#include <iostream> #include <string> #include <fstream> #include <iomanip> #include <limits> #include <algorithm> using namespace std; const int MAX_TOPPINGS = 2; const int MAX_DONUTS = 50; struct donutType { string name; bool type; double price; string filling; string toppings[MAX_TOPPINGS]; }; ifstream getFileStream(string); int getDonuts(ifstream&, donutType[]); bool continueMenu(string); void sortByPrice(donutType[], int); int searchByName(const donutType[], int, string); void removeDonutFromList(donutType[], int&, int); int getCheapestDonut(const donutType[], int); void soldDonut(donutType, donutType[], int&); void outputSoldDonuts(ofstream&, const donutType[], int); void displayAvailableDonuts(const donutType[], int); string allCaps(string); /** * The main function to manage the donut ordering program. * * @return The exit status of the program. */ int main() { ifstream infile; ofstream outfile("sold.csv"); string filename; string request; donutType donuts[MAX_DONUTS]; donutType soldDonuts[MAX_DONUTS]; int amtDonuts = 0; int amtSold = 0; double total = 0; cout << fixed << setprecision(2); // gets step 1 the input stream infile = getFileStream("Enter a donut file: "); // step 2 get total donuts amtDonuts = getDonuts(infile, donuts); // step 3 print to console cout << "Welcome to Hank's Donut World!\n\n"; while (true) { // step 4 print the available donuts to console displayAvailableDonuts(donuts, amtDonuts); //step 5 ask for user input string nameEnteredByUser; cout << "Enter donut name or cheapest: "; getline(cin, nameEnteredByUser); // step 6 check the user input choice and call function accordingly int donutIndex; transform(nameEnteredByUser.begin(), nameEnteredByUser.end(), nameEnteredByUser.begin(), ::tolower); if (nameEnteredByUser.compare("cheapest") == 0) donutIndex = getCheapestDonut(donuts, amtDonuts); else donutIndex = searchByName(donuts, amtDonuts, nameEnteredByUser); // step 7 check if the search results was empty if (donutIndex == -1) { cout << "Donut not found!\n"; continue; } // step 8 print the selection to console cout << "You selected " << donuts[donutIndex].name << ".\nExcellent choice!\n"; // Step 9 inserting the sold donut into solddonuts array total += donuts[donutIndex].price; soldDonuts[amtSold] = donuts[donutIndex]; amtSold++; // Step 10 removing the donut from donuts array removeDonutFromList(donuts, amtDonuts, donutIndex); // Step 11 choice to continue with more purchase bool complete = continueMenu("Will this complete your order? "); if (!complete) { if (amtDonuts > 0) continue; // go to Step 4 else break; // End the program if there are no available donuts left } // Step 13 sort the donuts sold by price using bubble sort sortByPrice(soldDonuts, amtSold); // Step 14 if (outfile.is_open()) { outfile << "Sold," << fixed << setprecision(2) << total << "\n"; outputSoldDonuts(outfile, soldDonuts, amtSold); } else { cerr << "Error opening output file.\n"; } break; // End the program } return 0; } /** * Retrieves an input file stream for a given filename after prompting the user. * * @param msg The message to prompt the user for the filename. * @return An ifstream object for the specified filename. */ ifstream getFileStream(string msg) { ifstream fileStream; string fileName; while (true) { // Prompt user for a filename cout << msg; getline(cin, fileName); // Open the file stream fileStream.open(fileName); // Check if the file stream is open if (fileStream.is_open()) { break; } else { fileStream.clear(); // Clear any error flags cin.ignore(numeric_limits<streamsize>::max(), '\n'); // Clear input buffer } } return fileStream; } /** * Reads donut data from an input file stream into a struct array of donutType. * * @param infile An input file stream containing donut data. * @param donuts An array of donutType to store the read data. * @return The number of donuts read from the file. */ int getDonuts(ifstream &infile, donutType donuts[]) { const int MAX_RECORDS = 50; size_t MAX_CHARS = 100; char line[MAX_CHARS]; int count = 0; // Read and ignore the header line infile.getline(line, MAX_CHARS); // Read the CSV file line by line while (!infile.fail() && count < MAX_RECORDS) { // Read the entire line into 'line' infile.getline(line, MAX_CHARS); // Create a strings to parse the line string lineString(line); if(lineString.size() < 2) break; // Tokenize the line based on commas size_t start = 0; size_t end = lineString.find(','); // Read name donuts[count].name = lineString.substr(0, end); //add plus one to skip the comma lineString = lineString.substr(end+1); // Read type end = lineString.find(','); donuts[count].type = (lineString.substr(0, end) == "Cake"); lineString = lineString.substr(end+1); // Read filling end = lineString.find(','); donuts[count].filling = lineString.substr(0, end); lineString = lineString.substr(end+1); // Read toppings end = lineString.find(','); donuts[count].toppings[0] = lineString.substr(0, end); lineString = lineString.substr(end+1); end = lineString.find(',') ; donuts[count].toppings[1] = lineString.substr(0, end); lineString = lineString.substr(end+1); // Read price donuts[count].price = stod(lineString); count++; } return count; } /** * Displays a prompt and waits for user input to continue or exit. * * @param prompt The message to display as a prompt. * @return True if the user chooses to continue, false if the user chooses to exit. */ bool continueMenu(string prompt) { string input; while (true) { cout << prompt; getline(cin, input); // Convert the input to lowercase for case-insensitive comparison transform(input.begin(), input.end(), input.begin(), ::tolower); if (input == "no") return false; else if (input == "yes") return true; else cerr << "Invalid input. Please enter 'Yes' or 'No' (case insensitive).\n"; } } /** * Sorts an array of donuts based on their prices in ascending order using bubble sort. * * @param donuts An array of donuts to be sorted. * @param amtDonuts The number of donuts in the array. */ void sortByPrice(donutType donuts[], int amtDonuts) { for (int i = 0; i < amtDonuts - 1; ++i) { for (int j = 0; j < amtDonuts - i - 1; ++j) { // Compare prices and swap if needed if (donuts[j].price > donuts[j + 1].price) { // Swap donutType temp = donuts[j]; donuts[j] = donuts[j + 1]; donuts[j + 1] = temp; } } } } /** * Searches for a donut by name in an array of donuts. * * @param donuts An array of donuts to be searched. * @param amtDonuts The number of donuts in the array. * @param name The name of the donut to be searched. * @return The index of the found donut if present, otherwise -1. */ int searchByName(const donutType donuts[], int amtDonuts, string name) { transform(name.begin(), name.end(), name.begin(), ::tolower); for (int i = 0; i < amtDonuts; ++i) { string donutName = donuts[i].name; transform(donutName.begin(), donutName.end(), donutName.begin(), ::tolower); if (donutName.compare(name) == 0) return i; // Return the index if the name is found } return -1; // Return -1 if the name is not found } /** * Finds the index of the cheapest donut in an array of donuts. * * @param donuts An array of donuts to be searched. * @param amtDonuts The number of donuts in the array. * @return The index of the cheapest donut if the array is not empty, otherwise -1. */ int getCheapestDonut(const donutType donuts[], int amtDonuts) { if (amtDonuts <= 0) return -1; // Return -1 if the array is empty // Initialize to maximum possible value double minPrice = donuts[0].price; // Index of the cheapest donut int minIndex = 0; for (int i = 1; i < amtDonuts; ++i) { if (donuts[i].price < minPrice) { minPrice = donuts[i].price; minIndex = i; } } return minIndex; } /** * Converts a given string to uppercase. * * @param s The input string to be converted to uppercase. * @return The uppercase version of the input string. */ string allCaps(string s) { string upper = s; for (char &c : upper) c = toupper(static_cast<unsigned char>(c)); return upper; } /** * Removes a donut from the list based on the provided index. * * @param donuts The array of donuts. * @param amtDonuts The current number of donuts in the array. * @param removeIndex The index of the donut to be removed. */ void removeDonutFromList(donutType donuts[], int &amtDonuts, int removeIndex) { if (removeIndex < 0 || removeIndex >= amtDonuts) { cerr << "Invalid index to remove. Index out of range." << endl; return; } // Shift elements to fill the gap for (int i = removeIndex; i < amtDonuts - 1; ++i) { donuts[i] = donuts[i + 1]; } // Decrement the amount of donuts amtDonuts--; } /** * Outputs information about sold donuts to an output file. * * @param outfile The output file stream. * @param soldDonuts The array of sold donuts. * @param amtSold The current number of sold donuts in the array. */ void outputSoldDonuts(ofstream &outfile, const donutType soldDonuts[], int amtSold) { if (!outfile.is_open()) { cerr << "Error: Output file is not open." << endl; return; } outfile << fixed << setprecision(2); outfile << "Name,Type,Filling,Topping1,Topping2,Price" << endl; for (int i = 0; i < amtSold; ++i) { outfile << soldDonuts[i].name << ","; outfile << (soldDonuts[i].type ? "Cake" : "Dough") << ","; outfile << soldDonuts[i].filling << ","; outfile << soldDonuts[i].toppings[0] << ","; outfile << soldDonuts[i].toppings[1] << ","; outfile << soldDonuts[i].price << "\n"; } } /** * Displays the list of available donuts with their names and prices. * * @param donuts The array of available donuts. * @param amtDonuts The current number of available donuts in the array. */ void displayAvailableDonuts(const donutType donuts[], int amtDonuts) { cout << "List of donuts" << endl; cout << "---------------------------" << endl; int count = 0; for (int i = 0; i < amtDonuts; ++i) cout << donuts[i].name << " " << donuts[i].price << endl; cout << endl; }