There are many file formats through which CIA World Factbook can be saved. They all have their merits and demerits but this article will take a keen look at CSV. This is a very common format used with the Factbook that you must know about in details. As such, this review will discuss everything that you would want to know about CIA World Factbook CSV from advantages to disadvantages and even general characteristics. For the basics, CSV means Comma Separated Values and it mostly resembles the text file. It is a highly organized format where you will find information lined up in a single line while every field is separated from the other suing commas.
CSV has some very unique characteristics that make it suitable for use with the CIA World Factbook. Every record of the Factbook is given its own line with commas separating the fields. That simply makes the whole content reader-friendly which is usually a problem with many other formats. If there are any space-characters appearing together with the commas, this format naturally ignores them so you don’t expect them to be a distraction when reading over the content. There are also cases where you come across fields that have in-built commas but there are double-quote characters that help to separate them from the actual content. These are some of the standout characteristics that make CIA World Factbook CSV the right choice.
You might be wondering why CIA chooses to use CSV for its World Factbook over any other file format available in the market. The reasons are very simple and clear. One of the situations where the format can be used is when the Factbook data comes with a firm tabular structure. Also, CSV is the ideal file format to use when there is need to transfer big databases from one program to another as well as when importing and exporting data to any of the office applications. These are some of the selected instances under which the CSV file format will be good for use with CIA World Factbook but there are several others.
You equally need to know about the key advantages as well as disadvantages of using CSV with CIA World Factbook. Starting with the positives, you will find it easy reading through the Factbook content and even edit easily whenever you have such a requirement. You will simply have the freedom of doing anything you want with the data as far as analysis is concerned. Other merits include fast to handle, small in size, compatible with several platforms and its compact. The notable disadvantage of CIA World Factbook CSV is that its support for special characters remains poor.
reading through the Factbook content and even edit easily whenever you have such a requirement. You will simply have the freedom of doing anything you want with the data as far as analysis is concerned. Other merits include fast to handle, small in size, compatible with several platforms and its compact. The notable disadvantage of CIA World Factbook CSV is that its support for special characters remains poor.
