How to get my serial.print to be written into csv file

[krock]

Hey does anyone know how to write a CSV file in Arduino? I want to save the data I'm taking from my scale and save it that way so I don't have to keep copying and pasting all my data into excel sheets. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[J-M-L]

If you are on a PC google PLX-DAQ

[krock]

how do I intergrade that into my Arduino code?

[awneil]

Do you want to save it into a file on the Arduino, or have the serial data still received by the PC, and saved to a file there?

For the latter, most terminal programs can log whatever they receive to a file.
I do this with TeraTerm - it can add timestamps.

Or you could write a simple PC program in Python or whatever other language you prefer.

You can even do

copy COMx: <file>

at the command line

[krock]

so it doesn't really matter how it saves. i would prefer it to be saved in a way in separated by time, count, and weight. If there is an easy way to do this I'm all ears.

[paulpaulson]

Hello krock

Use a terminal program like Coolterm to make logging files.

[Delta_G]

It's like people don't even try anymore:

Here's way more information than you could ever get from a forum. Tutorials, explanations, other forum threads, I mean TONS of information and exactly the place to get started.
If you get stuck, post some code here and someone will help you fix it.

https://www.google.com/search?q=arduino+write+to+csv+file

[awneil]

Again, Do you want to save it into a file on the Arduino, or have the serial data still received by the PC, and saved to a file there?

Here's another option for the latter:

https://www.windmill.co.uk/serial.html

And an example using Python on the PC:

Demo of PC-Arduino comms using Python

I haven't been able to find a piece of example code (both the Python and the Arduino stuff) that can reliably send and receive text and/or binary data between a PC and an Arduino. So I have written a pair of demo programs - one in Python and one for the Arduino - in the hope that they might be useful to newcomers. I have written the programs on a Linux PC. It would be great if someone could let me know if they work on Windows and Mac systems. I originally wrote the Python program in JRuby as I…

[jim-p]

@Delta_G

It's like people don't even try anymore:

No comment (if you know what I mean)

[J-M-L]

@Delta_G

It's like people don't even try anymore:

Even not trying chatGPT…

I typed in the OPs question exactly as it is and got

——

Yes, it is possible to write a CSV file in Arduino to store the data from your scale. Here's a simple example to get you started:

#include <SD.h> // Include the SD library

File dataFile; // File object to store data

void setup() {
  // Initialize SD card
  if (!SD.begin(10)) {
    Serial.println("SD card initialization failed!");
    return;
  }

  // Create or open the data file
  dataFile = SD.open("data.csv", FILE_WRITE);
  if (!dataFile) {
    Serial.println("Error opening data.csv!");
    return;
  }

  // Write headers to the CSV file
  dataFile.println("Weight (grams), Date, Time");
  dataFile.flush();

  // ... your code to read data from the scale and save it to the CSV file ...
}

void loop() {
  // ... your code to read data from the scale and save it to the CSV file ...
  
  // Example: Writing data to the CSV file
  float weight = 123.45;
  String date = "2023-06-13";
  String time = "12:34:56";

  dataFile.print(weight);
  dataFile.print(", ");
  dataFile.print(date);
  dataFile.print(", ");
  dataFile.println(time);
  dataFile.flush();

  delay(1000); // Delay between data readings
}

In this example, the SD library is used to interface with an SD card module to store the CSV file. You'll need to connect an SD card module to your Arduino and make sure the library is properly installed.

The code initializes the SD card in the setup() function, creates or opens the data.csv file, and writes the headers to the file. Inside the loop() function (which runs repeatedly), you can add your code to read the data from the scale. In the example, the weight, date, and time are hardcoded for demonstration purposes, but you should replace them with your actual scale reading.

To write the data to the CSV file, you can use the print() and println() functions of the File object (dataFile). Remember to call flush() after writing to ensure the data is immediately written to the file.

Make sure to adjust the code according to your specific requirements, such as the pin number used for the SD card module and the format of the data you want to save.

[J-M-L]

It’s crap but at least I tried something

[Delta_G]

Meh, it's not bad. It looks like it would work and it isn't much different from how I'd write it as an example. I'd probably have it read an analog pin in loop so it actually logs something, but I think your average person could see that and see where to go from there. Or at least the next question to ask chat.

Was that GPT 3.5 or 4.0? They say 4.0 is a lot better at code.

[srnet]

Print the CSV output as Serial.print() and then put an Openlog on the serial port, which writes all the Serial.print() stuff to an SD card.

[J-M-L]

@Delta_G

Meh, it's not bad

Sure - I meant I did not ask for an SD based solution, it just throw that in there

Was version 3

[Delta_G]

@J-M-L

Sure - I meant I did not ask for an SD based solution, it just throw that in there

Neither did the OP and you said you asked his text directly. I think that given the OP's vague question it was a pretty good attempt. OP can probably take that and run with it or ask for something more specific.

[J-M-L]

Yeah - fair point
I told chatGPT I did not want the SD card and send directly to the PC and got

——
I apologize for the confusion. If you want to send the data directly to your PC without using an SD card, you can establish a serial communication between the Arduino and your computer.

Here's an example of how you can send the data as a CSV string from Arduino to your computer via serial communication:

1. Connect your Arduino to your computer using a USB cable.
2. In your Arduino sketch, include the Serial library at the beginning: #include <Serial.h>.
3. In the setup() function, initialize the serial communication with a specific baud rate: Serial.begin(9600);.
4. In the loop() function, read the weight data from your scale and send it to the computer as a CSV string using Serial.print() or Serial.println(). Separate the values with commas.
5. On your computer, you can use a terminal program or a serial monitor (like the one built into the Arduino IDE) to receive and save the data.

Here's a simplified example Arduino code that sends weight data as a CSV string:

void setup() {
  Serial.begin(9600);
}

void loop() {
  // Assuming you have a variable 'weight' containing the weight data
  float weight = 50.2;

  // Send the weight data as a CSV string via serial communication
  Serial.print(millis());  // Timestamp
  Serial.print(",");
  Serial.println(weight);  // Weight

  // Delay or other code to control the data acquisition rate
  delay(1000);
}

In your terminal program or Arduino IDE's serial monitor, make sure the baud rate matches the one specified in the Serial.begin() function (9600 in this example). You can copy the received data from the terminal program or save it to a file directly.

Note that you'll need a program running on your computer to receive the serial data and save it to a file if you want to automate the process. This can be accomplished using a programming language like Python or using specialized serial data logging software.

——

So I asked for the Python code

---

Certainly! Here's an example Python code that receives the serial data from Arduino and saves it to a CSV file:

import serial
import csv

# Establish serial communication with Arduino
arduino_port = '/dev/ttyUSB0'  # Replace with your Arduino port
baud_rate = 9600
ser = serial.Serial(arduino_port, baud_rate)

# Create a CSV file for saving the data
csv_file = open('data.csv', 'w', newline='')
csv_writer = csv.writer(csv_file)
csv_writer.writerow(['Timestamp', 'Weight'])

try:
    while True:
        # Read a line of serial data from Arduino
        serial_data = ser.readline().decode().strip()
        
        # Split the CSV values and save them
        timestamp, weight = serial_data.split(',')
        csv_writer.writerow([timestamp, weight])
        csv_file.flush()  # Ensure immediate writing to file
        
except KeyboardInterrupt:
    pass

# Close the CSV file and serial connection
csv_file.close()
ser.close()

Make sure you have the pySerial library installed before running this code. You can install it by running pip install pyserial in your terminal.

Replace arduino_port with the appropriate port that your Arduino is connected to. You can find the port name in your operating system's device manager or Arduino IDE's "Port" menu.

When you run this Python code, it will continuously read the serial data from Arduino, split it into timestamp and weight values, and save them to a CSV file named data.csv. Press Ctrl+C in the terminal to stop the program.

You can modify the code further to handle errors, add additional data processing, or customize the file name and format according to your requirements.

---

I guess it could get you stared

[awneil]

@Delta_G

Neither did the OP

OP still hasn't says whether he wants the data stored on the Arduino (eg, SD card) or is happy to keep the serial link, and just capture to file on the PC.