NAME

App::CSVUtils::csv_fill_template - Substitute template values in a text file with fields from CSV rows

VERSION

This document describes version 1.033 of App::CSVUtils::csv_fill_template (from Perl distribution App-CSVUtils), released on 2023-09-06.

FUNCTIONS

csv_fill_template

Usage:

csv_fill_template(%args) -> [$status_code, $reason, $payload, \%result_meta]

Substitute template values in a text file with fields from CSV rows.

Templates are text that contain [[NAME]] field placeholders. The field placeholders will be replaced by values from the CSV file. This is a simple alternative to mail-merge. (I first wrote this utility because LibreOffice Writer, as always, has all the annoying bugs; that particular time, one that prevented mail merge from working.)

Example:

% cat madlib.txt
Today I went to the park. I saw a(n) [[adjective1]] [[noun1]] running
towards me. It looked hungry, really hungry. Horrified and terrified, I took
a(n) [[adjective2]] [[noun2]] and waved the thing [[adverb1]] towards it.
[[adverb2]], when it arrived at my feet, it [[verb1]] and [[verb2]] me
instead. I was relieved, the [[noun1]] was a friendly creature after all.
After we [[verb3]] for a little while, I went home with a(n) [[noun3]] on my
face. That was an unforgettable day indeed.

% cat values.csv
adjective1,adjective2,adjective3,noun1,noun2,noun3,verb1,verb2,verb3,adverb1,adverb2
slow,gigantic,sticky,smartphone,six-wheeler truck,lollipop,piece of tissue,threw,kissed,stared,angrily,hesitantly
sweet,delicious,red,pelican,bottle of parfume,desk,exercised,jumped,slept,confidently,passively

% csv-fill-template values.csv madlib.txt
Today I went to the park. I saw a(n) slow six-wheeler truck running
towards me. It looked hungry, really hungry. Horrified and terrified, I took
a(n) gigantic lollipop and waved the thing angrily towards it.
hesitantly, when it arrived at my feet, it threw and kissed me
instead. I was relieved, the six-wheeler truck was a friendly creature after all.
After we stared for a little while, I went home with a(n) piece of tissue on my
face. That was an unforgettable day indeed.

---
Today I went to the park. I saw a(n) sweet pelican running
towards me. It looked hungry, really hungry. Horrified and terrified, I took
a(n) delicious bottle of parfume and waved the thing confidently towards it.
passively, when it arrived at my feet, it exercised and jumped me
instead. I was relieved, the pelican was a friendly creature after all.
After we slept for a little while, I went home with a(n) desk on my
face. That was an unforgettable day indeed.

This function is not exported.

Arguments ('*' denotes required arguments):

  • input_escape_char => str

    Specify character to escape value in field in input CSV, will be passed to Text::CSV_XS.

    Defaults to \\ (backslash). Overrides --input-tsv option.

  • input_filename => filename (default: "-")

    Input CSV file.

    Use - to read from stdin.

    Encoding of input file is assumed to be UTF-8.

  • input_header => bool (default: 1)

    Specify whether input CSV has a header row.

    By default, the first row of the input CSV will be assumed to contain field names (and the second row contains the first data row). When you declare that input CSV does not have header row (--no-input-header), the first row of the CSV is assumed to contain the first data row. Fields will be named field1, field2, and so on.

  • input_quote_char => str

    Specify field quote character in input CSV, will be passed to Text::CSV_XS.

    Defaults to " (double quote). Overrides --input-tsv option.

  • input_sep_char => str

    Specify field separator character in input CSV, will be passed to Text::CSV_XS.

    Defaults to , (comma). Overrides --input-tsv option.

  • input_tsv => true

    Inform that input file is in TSV (tab-separated) format instead of CSV.

    Overriden by --input-sep-char, --input-quote-char, --input-escape-char options. If one of those options is specified, then --input-tsv will be ignored.

  • template_filename* => filename

    (No description)

Returns an enveloped result (an array).

First element ($status_code) is an integer containing HTTP-like status code (200 means OK, 4xx caller error, 5xx function error). Second element ($reason) is a string containing error message, or something like "OK" if status is 200. Third element ($payload) is the actual result, but usually not present when enveloped result is an error response ($status_code is not 2xx). Fourth element (%result_meta) is called result metadata and is optional, a hash that contains extra information, much like how HTTP response headers provide additional metadata.

Return value: (any)

HOMEPAGE

Please visit the project's homepage at https://metacpan.org/release/App-CSVUtils.

SOURCE

Source repository is at https://github.com/perlancar/perl-App-CSVUtils.

AUTHOR

perlancar <perlancar@cpan.org>

CONTRIBUTING

To contribute, you can send patches by email/via RT, or send pull requests on GitHub.

Most of the time, you don't need to build the distribution yourself. You can simply modify the code, then test via:

% prove -l

If you want to build the distribution (e.g. to try to install it locally on your system), you can install Dist::Zilla, Dist::Zilla::PluginBundle::Author::PERLANCAR, Pod::Weaver::PluginBundle::Author::PERLANCAR, and sometimes one or two other Dist::Zilla- and/or Pod::Weaver plugins. Any additional steps required beyond that are considered a bug and can be reported to me.

COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE

This software is copyright (c) 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016 by perlancar <perlancar@cpan.org>.

This is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as the Perl 5 programming language system itself.

BUGS

Please report any bugs or feature requests on the bugtracker website https://rt.cpan.org/Public/Dist/Display.html?Name=App-CSVUtils

When submitting a bug or request, please include a test-file or a patch to an existing test-file that illustrates the bug or desired feature.