CSV to JSON

Imagine you have a spreadsheet filled with data in CSV format from various sources, such as Google Analytics, Spreadsheets, or Excel documents and you want to import it into your application that requires the data in JSON format. There can be several reasons why we use different file formats, for example, if someone gave it to us. Converting these files will give us more flexibility. This is where JSON file comes in handy. CSV is a text-based format whereas JSON is a flexible and powerful format. To convert these CSV files you need a good tool to help you achieve this. So, we need to know how to import these data into our application using the best conversion method. The most used way of importing this type of file would be by manually copying the information from one place to another. However, there is an easier way than doing it yourself. You should know how to get started with the help of a tool that can make your life easier.

What Is CSV?

To understand what JSON and CSV are, first, you need to know about CSV. To put it simply, CSV stands for "comma-separated values". These files come in plain text format and are used for exchanging table data. It has got no rules and is very popular. The data within these files can be easily imported into spreadsheet programs like Excel or Google Documents. The extension of this file will end with the .csv as an example of test.csv.

What Is JSON?

Now we know what a CSV is, but it's time to get the meaning of what a JSON is. This stands for "JavaScript Object Notation". The most important thing about JSON is that it uses JavaScript syntax and this format has been widely used. It is also very easy to read or write and contains key-value pairs in the form of name-value pairs. It can represent a collection of key-value pairs where these are arranged as an array or dictionary. In simple terms, if you want to transfer some data from your server side to the client side, you have to use JSON. These files come with a .json extension and contain data. JSON is widely used in web development.

Why Convert CSV To JSON?

There are many reasons why someone will need to convert these two types of file formats into each other. There can be several reasons behind the choice of one format over another, for example, some applications may require that you should use a specific format. You may also have a requirement where you need to provide these data in JSON format. The good thing about this is that it's easy for any application or person to read them. These files can be easily imported into web-based programs such as Google Documents, OpenOffice Calc, Libre Office, and Microsoft Excel.

How To Convert CSV To JSON

When we have a large amount of data that needs to be processed in our database, the first thing to do would be to convert these files. The main reason is to get better control over this type of file format. For those who are familiar with JSON, it's easy for them to convert their CSV files into JSON and use a specific program or tool that will give us the results we want.

What Are Some Of The Tools To Convert CSV?

This section should have information on some of the best tools that can be used to convert these two types of file formats. Different tools can do this for you. They can be manual, automatic, or semi-automatic. The good thing about using these tools is that they are free and will not take much time from your end. So, let's have a look at some of the best ones.

Manually Converting CSV To JSON

If we are talking about a very small amount of data then it may be possible for us to manually convert them. This means that you would need to open the file in any text editor and import these data into our program one by one. The good thing is that this will also not take much time from your end. Manual conversion does not require any tool or application to do so. However, if you have a large amount of data then manual conversion would be time-consuming. But there are some tools which can make the process faster and easier for us.

Using Online CSV To JSON Converter

The online converter is one of those tools that can give you the results you want simply. For this, first, we need to open any browser and search for "online CSV to JSON". As soon as the website opens it will start displaying all the options where you can choose from. You should always be very careful when using online converters because they may not guarantee that your data is safe. This means that you may lose some of these important data or there are chances that your important data may be stolen by others. So, before selecting any tool we need to make sure about this. The good thing is that most of them give us the results in a few seconds and do not require anything from our end. If you want to use this method then follow these simple steps:

1. Open Google browser or any other browser that you like.
2. Click on any search engine such as Google, Bing, etc.
3. Type what you are looking for, and click the enter key to search.
4. Select any of the options from the search results. This will take you directly to the website where you can select how many rows you want to be in your JSON data, for example, 100 or 500, and so on.
5. After selecting the number of rows that are there in your CSV file, click the "Convert" button at the bottom left corner of the page.
6. Once it's done then download the JSON file.

Using Online Converters

This is not a new feature as these types of services have been used for several years to convert many different formats of files. So, different tools can help us in converting CSV into JSON format. One of the popular and free tools to do this job would be the online converter which we discussed earlier. It's a very common method because it does not require any download or installation on your computer from our end. But the drawback is that these types of services are generally not safe, especially those where you can upload your file. You should always be careful when using them.

How to Use Online Converters

When we are talking about online converters there are a few things to take care of before using them. First, we should make sure that the website is reliable and trustworthy. This means that our data is safe in this place. After getting the results, you can check your file by comparing it with the original CSV file. The good thing about these tools is that they will give us the result as soon as we click on any button. These types of converters are generally free and there is no cost involved from our end. However, if you have a large amount of data then using a manual converter may be the best choice for you.

How to Use Manual Converters

Manual conversion can be done by opening the CSV file in Notepad or Excel and then copying everything. The next step is to open another text editor such as WordPad, NotePad, etc., and paste that data into it. After this, you need to save it with a .json extension. Now your file has been converted into JSON format.

Manual Converters

If we are talking about manual conversion then this method will be the best option for a small amount of data. If we have a large amount of data, using an online converter or manual converter would not be the best choice because they require a lot of time from our end to do so. However, if you want to use the manual way then follow these simple steps:

1. First, open your CSV file in any available text editor.
2. Select all the data and copy it into WordPad or NotePad.
3. Once the data has been copied, paste this into another file.
4. Now save this file with a .json extension.

Why Manual Conversion Would Be A Bad Idea

There are some drawbacks to using manual conversion. The first drawback is that there will be no guarantee as to how your data will look after you have converted it into JSON format. There can be some mistakes in the conversion process and also the quality may not be the same as the original CSV file. As we have discussed, this method works fine for a small amount of data but if the data is large then it will take a lot of time from your end to do so.

How to Use Online CSV To JSON Converters

This section should give us some information on some popular tools that are available online. These can be used for converting these two types of file formats into each other.

Using Excel Converters

There is another method that can help you convert the data from CSV to JSON. However, this requires MS Excel software on your computer which we all know how it works as the best spreadsheet application in the world. If you have this software then follow these simple steps:

1. First, open any CSV file with Excel.
2. Select all the data that is available on the sheet and press Ctrl + C button to copy the data.
3. Once you have copied the data, now click anywhere outside of the Excel file. Then right-click there to select the "Paste" option. The data will be pasted in the new text editor window.

How to Use Excel Converters

The first thing to do when using this method is that we need to open any CSV file with the help of MS Excel.

1. First open your CSV file in any version of Excel, for example, Excel 2013, etc. You can also use Office 2007.
2. Once the file has been opened, select all the data on the sheet using the mouse by clicking and dragging.
3. Now press the Ctrl + C button to copy this data.
4. Now open a new text editor or any other notepad software that is available on your computer. For example, you can use NotePad, WordPad, etc.
5. Once the new window has been opened, right-click there using the mouse and select the "Paste" option.