CSV IO python: converting a csv file into a list of lists

Question

How to convert a csv file into a list of lists where each line is a list of entries with in a bigger list?

I'm having trouble with this because some of my entries have a comma in them

a file like:

'1','2','3'  
'1,1','2,2','3,3'

becomes:

[['1','2','3']['1','1','2','2','3','3']]

instead of:

[['1','2','3']['1,1','2,2','3,3']

sorry if i come across as a python/ coding newb but what are libraries? and currently i am only working with csv files — Jack, Oct 16 '15 at 11:55
@Jack: are you a newbie for searching? https://docs.python.org/2/library/ — Karoly Horvath, Oct 16 '15 at 12:55

LetzerWille · Accepted Answer · 2015-10-16T11:59:10.770

0

in your data '2,2' is one string. But csv reader can deal with this:
import csv
result = []
with open("data", 'r') as f:
        r = csv.reader(f, delimiter=',')
        # next(r, None)  # skip the headers
        for row in r:
            result.append(row)

print(result)

[["'1'", "'2'", "'3'"], ["'1", "1'", "'2", "2'", "'3", '3']]

edited Oct 16 '15 at 11:59

answered Oct 16 '15 at 11:43

LetzerWille

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Thanks!! Your code works for me, didn't know that the csv.reader function even existed! Thanks for your very fast answer – Jack Oct 16 '15 at 11:56
@Jack, glad to help. for csv file you need to do import csv. I will my answer update now. – LetzerWille Oct 16 '15 at 11:58
@Jack if i comment out import csv i get this error in python 3.5 NameError: name 'csv' is not defined – LetzerWille Oct 16 '15 at 12:08

CSV IO python: converting a csv file into a list of lists

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