awk csv parser :)

parse.awk

#!/usr/bin/awk -f
# Sample 1: 3141,"Smith, John",$52000
#   col[0] = 3141
#   col[1] = Smith, John
#   col[2] = $52000
# Sample 2: 3141,"John ""The Rocket"" Smith",$52000
#   col[0] = 3141
#   col[1] = John "The Rocket" Smith
#   col[2] = $52000
head = $0 {
    delete col
    n = 0
    while (match(head, /^("[^"]*"(,|$)|[^,]*(,|$))/)) {
        item = substr(head, 1, RLENGTH)
        sub(/,$/, "", item)
        if (item ~ /^"/) item = substr(item, 2, length(item) - 2)
        gsub(/""/, "\"", item) # "" -> "
        gsub(/\\"/, "\"", item) # \" -> "
        col[n++] = item
        head = substr(head, RLENGTH + 1)
        if (length(head) == 0) break
    }
    for (i = 0; i < n; i++) printf "col[%u] = %s\n", i, col[i]
}