Ability to download CSV file

[ScienceCat18]

This is on behalf of colleague doing user training (in Africa):

"The primary roadblock we hit was the JSON formatting and of the CSV request the lack of CSV file download. Further, for attendees using spreadsheet programs with ";" delimiters, copy-pasting the CSV-like info from the JSON response was a significant hurdle. If we can bridge that gap, the tool will be near perfect for users with limited coding experience."

[c-h-david]

Thanks for submitting!

[tloubrieu-jpl]

Hi @c-h-david , @ScienceCat18 , thanks for submitting the ticket,

I am making your request a candidate for our next project increment (next 3-4 month of development starting in April). We will update you on the status of the ticket as it is triaged and implemented.

Thanks,

Thomas

[c-h-david]

Just to clarify, reading the CSV data from the JSON string that is currently returned by the API works just fine for me in Python using the tutorial. However:

1. For users with limited programming background, this was a serious hurdle and the possibility to download a file directly from the browser would have really helped.
2. The csv format itself can be a challenge for some versions of spreadsheet editors that use ";" as delimiter and "," as decimal separator. Having alternate options would help.

[tloubrieu-jpl]

From discussion today during the planning, we will need to figure if the actual CSV download should replace the current Json wrapped CSV or replace it.

The challenge is to avoid backward incompatibilities.

[c-h-david]

The existing way works great programmatically and I'm tempted to say it probably should not be broken. Perhaps a new option name like csv-download, csv-file or something alike would be best. Just my $0.02!