The CSV import filter uses a hand-made state machine to parse the CSV file.
This allows to handle quoted fields (such as those containing the CSV delimiter),
as well as the double-quote character itself (which then appears twice, and
always in a quoted field).
Just to make sure about the vocabulary, I call a quoted field a field
starting with " and finishing with ".

Let's try to draw the graph of the state machine using ascii-art.


         DEL or EOL
            /--\            
            |  |           
            |  v    "     
       /--[START]-------->[QUOTED_FIELD] (**)
  other|   ^   ^            |        ^
   (*) |   |   | DEL or     | "      | " (*)
       |   |   | EOL        v        |
       |   |   \----[MAYBE_END_OF_QUOTED_FIELD]
       |   |                  |
       |   | DEL or           |
       |   | EOL              | other
       |   |                  |
       v   |   /------<-------|
   [NORMAL_FIELD] (**)

DEL : CSV delimiter (depends on locale !). Often comma, sometimes semicolon.
EOL : End Of Line.
(*) : added to the current field
(**) : implicit loop on itself, labeled "other (*)"


Ugly isn't it ? :) One can't be good in drawings AND in hacking :)

That's all. For the rest, see csvfilter.cc

David Faure <faure@kde.org>, 1999