CSV data and decimal separators

[Guy Harris <guy () alum mit edu>]

What do various programs do when reading comma-separated value files if:

        1) the file contains floating-point values

and

        2) the locale in which the program is being run uses comma, rather than period, as the decimal separator?

Are there any that override the locale's decimal separator and use period?

Are there any that make an attempt to guess which commas are decimal separators and which are value separators?

Are there any that use the locale's decimal separator and require that floating-point numbers including a decimal 
separator be quoted?

Are there any that use the locale's decimal separator and require that your "comma"-separated value file use a 
separator *other* than a comma - for example, a semicolon or a tab - if you're going to be reading in files that 
contain non-integer numeric values?

Are there any that do something else?

And if the answer to more than one of those questions is "yes" - i.e., if there isn't a "standard" way of handling this 
- do programs that *write* CSV files offer an option to use different solutions?

(And, if CSV files don't always use a period as a decimal separator, what happens if somebody using one locale wants to 
send a CSV file to somebody in a different locale?)
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