Aglet

Verify a CSV Delimiter Detection Change

A cleaner preview is only part of delimiter verification. The accepted settings must reach the importer, and each intended value must land in the correct field. Keep a known fixture set and compare the saved result with its independently recorded expected structure.

Check whether the outcome improved

  1. Exercise distinct separator formats

    Check comma, tab, and semicolon fixtures with the same logical columns. Include punctuation inside quoted values, an empty field, and a record beyond the detector sample. Record both the selected delimiter and parsed values; a matching column count can conceal wrong splits.

  2. Check selection and correction

    Confirm that a valid automatic choice remains stable when moving between preview and confirmation. Where a format override exists, choose a different delimiter and then restore the correct one. The preview and import must agree on which choice is authoritative.

  3. Inspect accepted and rejected results

    Complete a controlled import and compare stored fields with the fixture. Exercise an inconsistent file and inspect its failure message. It should identify a usable next step without silently accepting an ambiguous layout or suggesting a mapping change that cannot repair parsing.

What to carry forward

Accept the change when detection, explicit choices, preview, and stored values agree for the supported matrix. Mark unsupported mixed-dialect inputs separately. Keep verification open if execution was not exercised; a parser-level pass does not prove that the selected settings survive the import flow.

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.

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