convert.py

import codecs
import cStringIO
import csv


class CsvConverter(object):
    """Convert a given list into CSV.

    CsvConverter takes a data structure (list of iterables), and converts
    it into a CSV.

    You can pass in an optional argument header."""
    def __init__(self, data, header=None):
        self.data = data
        self.header = header

    def convert_to_csv(self):
        """Converts the given input into a csv file as string io."""
        rows = []
        if self.header:
            rows.append(self.header)
        rows.extend(self.data)

        output = cStringIO.StringIO()
        output.write(codecs.BOM_UTF8)
        writer = csv.writer(output, dialect='excel-tab', delimiter=';', quotechar='"', quoting=csv.QUOTE_ALL)
        for row in rows:
            writer.writerow(row)
        output.seek(0)
        return output