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Annotated CSV Format (InfluxDB)

Description​

Annotated CSV is a format used by InfluxDB for exporting time series data. It extends standard CSV with metadata annotations that describe data types, groups, and other information. The format includes a header section with annotations followed by data rows.

File Extensions​

  • .annotatedcsv - Annotated CSV files

Implementation Details​

Reading​

The Annotated CSV implementation:

  • Parses InfluxDB Annotated CSV format
  • Extracts metadata annotations from header
  • Converts data types based on annotations
  • Handles datetime, numeric, and boolean types
  • Converts each row to a dictionary

Writing​

Writing is not currently supported for Annotated CSV format.

Key Features​

  • Type conversion: Automatically converts values based on annotations
  • Metadata support: Extracts and uses metadata annotations
  • InfluxDB format: Designed for InfluxDB data export
  • Totals support: Can count total rows
  • Time series: Optimized for time series data

Usage​

from iterable import open_iterable

# Basic reading
source = open_iterable('data.annotatedcsv')
for row in source:
    print(row)
source.close()

Parameters​

  • encoding (str): File encoding (default: utf8)
  • delimiter (str): Field delimiter (default: ,)

Limitations​

  1. Read-only: Annotated CSV format does not support writing
  2. InfluxDB-specific: Designed specifically for InfluxDB
  3. Format complexity: Requires understanding of InfluxDB annotations
  4. Type conversion: Some complex types may not convert perfectly

Compression Support​

Annotated CSV files can be compressed with all supported codecs:

  • GZip (.annotatedcsv.gz)
  • BZip2 (.annotatedcsv.bz2)
  • LZMA (.annotatedcsv.xz)
  • LZ4 (.annotatedcsv.lz4)
  • ZIP (.annotatedcsv.zip)
  • Brotli (.annotatedcsv.br)
  • ZStandard (.annotatedcsv.zst)

Use Cases​

  • InfluxDB export: Exporting data from InfluxDB
  • Time series data: Working with time series data
  • Data migration: Migrating InfluxDB data
  • Data analysis: Analyzing time series data
  • CSV - Standard CSV format
  • ILP - InfluxDB Line Protocol format