A Comma-Separated Values (CSV) file contains the values in a table as a series of ASCII text lines, organized so that each column value is separated by a comma from the next column’s value and each row starts a new line.

A CSV file is a way to collect the data from any table, so that it can be used as input for another table-oriented application (such as a relational database application).

A CSV file is sometimes referred to as a flat file.