What type of flat file is commonly associated with a .csv extension?

The commonly associated format with a .csv extension is a Comma Separated Values File. This file type is designed to store tabular data in plain text format, where each line corresponds to a row in a table and each field within that row is separated by a comma. This structure allows for easy import and export between various software applications, particularly spreadsheets and databases.

The use of commas as delimiters makes it straightforward for programs to understand where one piece of data ends and the next begins, which is a key feature of CSV files. The simplicity of this format contributes to its widespread adoption for data interchange because many applications can read and produce CSV files without special programming.

In contrast, while text files can include CSV data, they encompass a broader category and are not limited to the comma-separated format. Binary files, on the other hand, contain data in a format that is not human-readable and cannot be easily used with text-based applications without specific parsing. XML files use a structured markup language that is more complex than CSV files; they use tags to define data, making them less straightforward than the comma-separated approach.