CSV

CSV (Comma-Separated Values) is a text format in which data is laid out separated by commas. Because it can be opened easily in Excel or a spreadsheet, it has become established as a common format for exchanging data between different systems. The file extension is .csv, and the contents can also be checked in a text editor.

In QR code operations, CSV is useful in two situations. The first is bulk generation. If you gather product names / URLs / control numbers and so on into a CSV file, you can load it into a QR code generator and create hundreds to thousands of QR codes at once. It is indispensable when issuing large numbers of labels for inventory management or individual tickets for an event.

The second is exporting scan data. If you export as CSV the scan logs (date and time, location, scanned content) recorded by a QR code reader device or a management system, you can tally them in Excel or import them into another database. Its structure is simpler than JSON or XML, but as long as you are handling tabular data, the advantage is that CSV is lighter and easier to work with.