Aglet

Prevent Recurring CSV Delimiter Mistakes

The useful lesson from a delimiter incident is the exact condition that made an apparently valid format ambiguous. Preserve that condition in a readable fixture and clarify how the product selects or asks for a separator. More generic parsing examples will not capture the same failure.

Keep the lesson for the next incident

  1. Record the misleading signal

    Describe which punctuation, quoted value, or sampled record led to the wrong selection. Include expected fields and the detector decision. Distinguish a detector mistake from an inconsistent source file so the next incident does not inherit an unsupported explanation.

  2. Keep a minimal format contract

    Document the supported separators, how explicit choices take precedence, and what happens when detection is uncertain. Connect the preview behavior to the same contract. Retain one representative export per relevant producer without preserving customer records or an entire uploaded dataset.

  3. Review new producer formats

    Choose an owner to review a new export dialect or a change in parsing behavior. Track ambiguous detections and corrected previews where those events are available. A new producer should prompt a fixture comparison before the team expands its supported-format claim.

What to carry forward

Close follow-up when the original ambiguity is represented, the selection contract is clear, and a named owner knows what should trigger another review. Preserve the fixture beyond the immediate fix. A changed file producer or sampling strategy can invalidate an earlier successful comparison.

Technical background: DuckDB documentation.

Keep the decision with the work.

Use a Work Item in Aglet to record the problem, the evidence you have, and the next decision. Add an owner and priority, then keep updates in the discussion so the next person can follow the reasoning.

Create an account See the product workflow