The data output from exports and the API can be written in the following format combinations
| Data type / output format | XML | JSON | CSV | XSLX | HTML | |
| FULL2 | X * | X * | x | – | – | – |
| FULL | X * | X * | x | – | – | – |
| SMALL | x | x | x | x | – | – |
| PRICES2 | X * | X * | x | – | – | – |
| PRICES | X * | X * | x | – | – | – |
| SOURCES | x | X * | x | – | – | – |
| DEEPLINK | – | – | – | x | – | |
| DATASHEET | – | – | – | x | x |
* Not in export, only for the API.
CSV (zip)
The CSV format is a tabular format written by ITscope as follows:
- Records are separated by line breaks (CRLF)
- Fields are separated by comma (,)
- The first line consists of the field names, also separated by commas
- Character strings are only enclosed in double quotes if the content requires such a quoting
- In character strings marked by double quotes, line breaks are permitted and are not considered as data record separators
- If a double quotation mark appears as content in a string, it is masked by prepending another double quote
- An empty text field does not contain double quotes but remains empty
- Floating point numbers contain a decimal point and no thousands separator
- Date values are as “dd.MM.yyyy hh: mm”, as in “12.05.2013 08:02”
- CSV files are UTF-8 encoded.
CSV downloads are delivered as a compressed zip file. Multi-File CSV formats contain several CSV files that reference each other in the ZIP archive. In cases where only a single file is delivered as a result, the ZIP archive can contain several files.
- Log.csv: contains a list of the products that have been filtered out and the reason for this filtering – this information is intended for ITscope support in order to be able to better research problems
- ERROR.txt: exists if errors have occurred; The file is not included in an error-free export; The file is present but the reason could not be determined.
XML
XML is a hierarchical format in which a parent object embeds subordinate objects.
The field names are used as names for the XML elements. Referenced objects have already been resolved and are directly integrated into the parent element.
XML files are transferred directly without additional files and uncompressed. They can be viewed directly in the browser by calling the browser. The log information on filtered products are attached as <log> elements at the end.
JSON
JSON, like XML, is a hierarchical format that uses a more space-saving syntax. The two formats are very similar in structure.
XLSX (Excel)
An alternative to CSV is the XLSX format used by Microsoft Excel. It is a tabular format available for some exports that output a single table.