Parsing CSV files in Python

Question

I have a CSV file that has around 30 headers (columns) and 2000 rows.

HeaderOne | HeaderTwo | HeaderThree
dataRowOne |  dataRowOne | dataRowOne
dataRowTwo |  dataRowTwo | dataRowTwo

I want to use Python to search for a string, then output that row. So say for example I search for 'cocaColaIsTheBest' and it is in cell E2018, I want Python to print out row 2018 with the headers above it.

So far, i've got:

import csv

myExSpreadSheet = csv.reader(open('Simon.csv', 'rb'))

for row in myExSpreadSheet:
    if 'cocaColaIsTheBest' in row:
        print (row)

This prints the row in a dictionary; I want it to print the header as well.

How can I print all headers?

And how can I print specific headers?

What do you mean "header of each row?" Was that a typo or you do have multiple header rows? Either way, if you want to grab the header, which presumably is the first non-blank row, then just pre-read the row and store it into a "header" buffer before you do your string search. If it's not the first row, then do a string search for the header row, then a string search for the data row. — Bill N.
– Bill N., Commented Dec 31, 2013 at 15:57
Sorry, that was a typo. Just the header. Thanks Bill. Martijn's answer seems to do the trick, which is pretty much what you said. Cheers. — BubbleMonster
– BubbleMonster, Commented Dec 31, 2013 at 16:03

Martijn Pieters · Accepted Answer · 2013-12-31 15:59:10Z

3

The headers are the first row; capture those first:

with open('Simon.csv', 'rb') as csvfile:
    myExSpreadSheet = csv.reader(csvfile)
    headers = next(myExSpreadSheet, None)  # grab first row

    for row in myExSpreadSheet:
        if 'cocaColaIsTheBest' in row:
            print headers
            print row

answered Dec 31, 2013 at 15:59

Martijn Pieters

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2 Comments

BubbleMonster Over a year ago

Thanks Martijn. I owe you a pint! That works perfectly. What does the 'None' do in the headers = next line?

Martijn Pieters Over a year ago

@BubbleMonster: It is the default value to return if the iterable is empty (if the file is empty, for example). It prevents a StopIteration exception from being raised, basically.

meunierd · Accepted Answer · 2013-12-31 16:03:36Z

2

Are you sure you're not better off using a DictReader? Then the headings are associated with their corresponding cells and you can format however you like.

answered Dec 31, 2013 at 16:03

meunierd

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1 Comment

John Y Over a year ago

This is especially useful if you only want certain column labels, or if the column layout might change.

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