convert-csv-to-json 3.27.0 → 4.0.0

package/RELEASE_NOTES.md

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+# Release Notes - RFC 4180 Compliance Update
+
+## Version 3.21.0 - RFC 4180 Compliance
+
+### Overview
+This release makes csvToJson **fully compliant with RFC 4180**, the standard format specification for CSV files. This is a significant update that improves standards compliance, reliability, and compatibility with CSV data from various sources.
+
+**RFC 4180** (Common Format and MIME Type for Comma-Separated Values (CSV) Files) is the official standard specification for CSV file formatting, maintained by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).
+
+---
+
+## 🚀 Key Features
+
+### 1. **RFC 4180 Compliant CSV Parsing**
+- Full support for RFC 4180 standard CSV format
+- Proper handling of quoted fields with embedded delimiters
+- Support for multi-line fields (fields containing newlines)
+- Correct quote escaping using double quotes (`""`)
+
+### 2. **Default Comma Delimiter (Breaking Change)**
+- **NEW**: Comma (`,`) is now the default field delimiter (RFC 4180 standard)
+- **BREAKING**: Previous default was semicolon (`;`)
+- Allows parsing standard CSV files without explicit configuration
+- Maintains backward compatibility through explicit `fieldDelimiter()` calls
+
+### 3. **Improved Quoted Field Handling**
+- Properly handles fields wrapped in quotes
+- Correctly processes escaped quotes within quoted fields
+- Supports empty quoted fields (`""`)
+- Handles fields containing delimiters, newlines, and special characters
+
+### 4. **Line Ending Support**
+- Support for CRLF (`\r\n`) - Windows standard
+- Support for LF (`\n`) - Unix/Linux standard
+- Support for CR (`\r`) - older Mac standard
+- Automatic detection and handling
+
+### 5. **Code Quality Improvements**
+- Refactored for better readability and maintainability
+- Added comprehensive JSDoc comments
+- Extracted complex logic into focused helper methods
+- Removed deprecated `substr()` method (replaced with `slice()`)
+- Added braces to all conditional statements
+- Removed deprecated `jsonToCsv()` function
+
+### 6. **Comprehensive Test Coverage**
+- 12 new RFC 4180 compliance tests
+- 12 new comma-delimiter tests
+- 109 total tests (up from 94)
+- Edge case handling verification
+
+---
+
+## ⚠️ Breaking Changes
+
+### 1. **Default Delimiter Changed to Comma**
+
+**BEFORE:**
+```javascript
+const csvToJson = require('convert-csv-to-json');
+// Default delimiter was semicolon (;)
+let result = csvToJson.getJsonFromCsv('data.csv');
+```
+
+**AFTER (RFC 4180 standard):**
+```javascript
+const csvToJson = require('convert-csv-to-json');
+// Default delimiter is now comma (,)
+let result = csvToJson.getJsonFromCsv('data.csv');
+// File should be comma-delimited
+```
+
+**Migration**: If your CSV files use semicolons or other delimiters, explicitly set the delimiter:
+```javascript
+csvToJson.fieldDelimiter(';').getJsonFromCsv('data.csv');
+```
+
+### 2. **Removed Deprecated Function**
+
+The `jsonToCsv()` function has been **removed**. This was a deprecated alias.
+
+**BEFORE:**
+```javascript
+csvToJson.jsonToCsv('input.csv', 'output.json');
+```
+
+**AFTER:**
+```javascript
+csvToJson.generateJsonFileFromCsv('input.csv', 'output.json');
+```
+
+### 3. **Stricter Quoted Field Parsing**
+
+RFC 4180 compliant quote handling may parse some edge cases differently:
+
+**Example - Proper Quote Escaping:**
+```javascript
+// Input CSV: "name","description"
+//            "John","He said ""Hello""" 
+// Note: Double quotes "" represent a single quote
+
+// Before: Might include literal quote characters
+// After (RFC 4180): Correctly unescapes to: He said "Hello"
+```
+
+---
+
+## 📋 Migration Guide
+
+### Quick Start for Existing Users
+
+**No changes needed if you:**
+- Already explicitly set field delimiters with `.fieldDelimiter()`
+- Use quoted field support with `.supportQuotedField(true)`
+
+**Action required if you:**
+- Rely on semicolon (`;`) as default delimiter
+- Use the removed `jsonToCsv()` function
+- Parse CSV files with quoted fields containing special characters
+
+### Step-by-Step Migration
+
+#### Step 1: Update Delimiter Usage
+If your files use a special delimiter, add explicit configuration:
+
+```javascript
+// For semicolon-delimited files
+csvToJson.fieldDelimiter(';').getJsonFromCsv('data.csv');
+
+// For tab-delimited files
+csvToJson.fieldDelimiter('\t').getJsonFromCsv('data.csv');
+
+// For pipe-delimited files
+csvToJson.fieldDelimiter('|').getJsonFromCsv('data.csv');
+```
+
+#### Step 2: Replace Deprecated Functions
+Replace any usage of `jsonToCsv()`:
+
+```javascript
+// Old code
+csvToJson.jsonToCsv('input.csv', 'output.json');
+
+// New code
+csvToJson.generateJsonFileFromCsv('input.csv', 'output.json');
+```
+
+#### Step 3: Test with RFC 4180 CSV Files
+Test parsing standard CSV files without explicit delimiter:
+
+```javascript
+// This now works with standard CSV files (comma-delimited)
+let result = csvToJson.getJsonFromCsv('standard.csv');
+```
+
+---
+
+## 📊 Feature Comparison
+
+| Feature | Before | After |
+|---------|--------|-------|
+| Default Delimiter | `;` (semicolon) | `,` (comma) - RFC 4180 |
+| Quoted Fields | Partial support | Full RFC 4180 support |
+| Multi-line Fields | Not supported | Fully supported |
+| Empty Quoted Fields | Issues | Correctly handled |
+| Quote Escaping | Partial | RFC 4180 compliant (`""`) |
+| Line Endings | Limited | CRLF, LF, CR all supported |
+| Code Quality | Basic | Refactored & maintainable |
+
+---
+
+## 🧪 Testing
+
+All changes have been validated with comprehensive test coverage:
+
+- **109+ tests** across 13 test suites
+- **RFC 4180 compliance tests** - 15 tests
+- **Comma delimiter tests** - 12 tests
+- **Backward compatibility tests** - All existing tests pass
+
+Run tests:
+```bash
+npm test              # All tests with coverage
+npm test -- --no-coverage    # Quick test run
+npm test test/rfc4180.spec.js            # RFC 4180 tests only
+npm test test/comma-delimiter.spec.js    # Comma delimiter tests
+```
+
+---
+
+## 📚 Documentation
+
+### New Resources
+- **Comprehensive RFC 4180 Migration Guide** - See `RFC4180_MIGRATION_GUIDE.md`
+- **RFC 4180 Compliance Tests** - See `test/rfc4180.spec.js`
+- **Comma Delimiter Tests** - See `test/comma-delimiter.spec.js`
+
+### RFC 4180 Standard
+- Official RFC 4180 specification: https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc4180
+- Key points:
+  - Comma is the field delimiter
+  - Quoted fields with embedded delimiters/newlines
+  - Double quotes escape quotes within fields
+  - CRLF line endings recommended
+
+---
+
+## 🔄 Backward Compatibility
+
+**Partially Compatible** - Most applications will work without changes if they:
+- Already use `.fieldDelimiter()` explicitly
+- Use `.supportQuotedField(true)` for quoted fields
+- Don't rely on the removed `jsonToCsv()` function
+
+**Requires Updates** if you:
+- Rely on semicolon as default delimiter
+- Parse semicolon-delimited CSV files without explicit configuration
+
+---
+
+## 💡 Examples
+
+### Example 1: Parse Standard CSV File (Default Comma)
+```javascript
+const csvToJson = require('convert-csv-to-json');
+
+// CSV file: name,age,city
+//            John,30,NYC
+//            Jane,25,LA
+
+let result = csvToJson.getJsonFromCsv('data.csv');
+// [{ name: 'John', age: '30', city: 'NYC' },
+//  { name: 'Jane', age: '25', city: 'LA' }]
+```
+
+### Example 2: Parse CSV String with Quoted Fields
+```javascript
+let csv = 'name,email,status\n' +
+          '"Smith, John","john@example.com","Active"\n' +
+          '"Doe, Jane","jane@example.com","Inactive"\n';
+
+let result = csvToJson.supportQuotedField(true).csvStringToJson(csv);
+// [{ name: 'Smith, John', email: 'john@example.com', status: 'Active' },
+//  { name: 'Doe, Jane', email: 'jane@example.com', status: 'Inactive' }]
+```
+
+### Example 3: Parse Multi-line Fields
+```javascript
+let csv = 'id,description\n' +
+          '1,"This is a\nmulti-line\ndescription"\n' +
+          '2,"Single line"\n';
+
+let result = csvToJson.supportQuotedField(true).csvStringToJson(csv);
+// [{ id: '1', description: 'This is a\nmulti-line\ndescription' },
+//  { id: '2', description: 'Single line' }]
+```
+
+### Example 4: Migrate from Semicolon-Delimited
+```javascript
+// For backward compatibility with semicolon-delimited files
+let result = csvToJson.fieldDelimiter(';').getJsonFromCsv('data.csv');
+```
+
+---
+
+## 🐛 Bug Fixes
+
+- Fixed handling of empty quoted fields (`""`)
+- Fixed multi-line field parsing within quoted regions
+- Fixed quote escaping detection (RFC 4180 compliant)
+- Fixed line ending detection (CRLF, LF, CR)
+- Removed deprecated `substr()` usage
+
+---
+
+## ✨ Internal Improvements
+
+- **Refactored `parseRecords()` method** - Clearer line-ending detection with `getLineEndingLength()` helper
+- **Refactored `split()` method** - Extracted quote handling into `isEscapedQuote()` and `isEmptyQuotedField()` helpers
+- **Named constants** - `QUOTE_CHAR`, `CRLF`, `LF`, `CR` for clarity
+- **JSDoc comments** - Comprehensive documentation for all complex methods
+- **Code consistency** - All if statements now have braces
+
+---
+
+## 📦 Installation
+
+```bash
+npm install convert-csv-to-json@latest
+```
+
+Or update existing installation:
+
+```bash
+npm update convert-csv-to-json
+```
+
+---
+
+## 🤝 Support
+
+For issues, questions, or migration assistance:
+- GitHub Issues: https://github.com/iuccio/csvToJson/issues
+- GitHub Discussions: https://github.com/iuccio/csvToJson/discussions
+
+---
+
+## 📝 Changelog
+
+**v3.21.0** (2026-03-17)
+- ✨ RFC 4180 compliance achieved
+- 🔄 Default delimiter changed to comma
+- 🧹 Code refactored for maintainability
+- ✅ 109+ comprehensive tests
+- 📚 Full documentation updates
+- ⚠️ Removed deprecated `jsonToCsv()` function
+
+---
+
+**Thank you for using csvToJson! We believe this RFC 4180 update makes the library more standards-compliant and reliable for real-world CSV parsing needs.**