Custom delimiter for CSV / SSV outputs

[pedrooot]

New feature motivation

Currently Prowler generates the CSV outputs using ; as delimiter. The CSV RFC specifies that the delimiter should be ,. The goal is to make a customizable delimiter for this output.

Solution Proposed

Have a custom separator for the CSV output or create a new output type called SSV which has ; as native separator and use , on the CSV output.

Describe alternatives you've considered

If you have any trouble when opening a CSV file output from Prowler in LibreOffice or Excel we recommend you to follow these steps:

• LibreOffice Issue -> https://ask.libreoffice.org/t/change-column-separator-on-csv-export/8404/3
• Excel Issue -> https://www.ablebits.com/office-addins-blog/change-excel-csv-delimiter/

[abant07]

Hey @pedrooot

Is this issue still open? If so, can I work on it?

[pedrooot]

Hey @abant07 I think that it's better if you start with #4703
The fix for this issue should be evaluated by the team.
Thanks for helping!

[abant07]

Sounds good

[abant07]

Hey @pedrooot

Am I okay to start on this issue?

[jfagoagas]

Hello @abant07 we are not sure about what to do here. If we decide that we want to add it we'll let you know.

Thanks!

[abant07]

Sounds good

[mitcharoo]

For anyone that finds this, a temporary solution I'm using is to replace commas (due to their presence in control descriptions/results/etc) with a space and then replace semicolons with commas:

sed -e 's/,/ /g' -e 's/;/,/g'

[toniblyx]

I think we can take advantage of v5 soon to have this sorted out. Leave default as it is (to not break anything) and add custom delimiter support option. Usage of sed -e 's/,/ /g' -e 's/;/,/g' is not recommended because some checks have comma in their fields, so that will break the CSV (or SSV) for sure.

[mitcharoo]

Yep, that's why I'm removing commas before replacing semicolons. As noted, a temporary workaround I've been using with no issue until Prowler supports the comma delimiter.