How to efficiently compare two CSV files with differing columns

1
votes

I have two separate CSV files, one with columns ABCD... and one with columns ABD... and I need a way to compare the differences in the matching columns.

I tried using Beyond Compare, but it assumes column ordering in the right matches the left so it doesn't work as expected. I have also tried using Compare-Object in PowerShell but it seems to only compare one column at a time and due to the large data set this would be a long process. The current solution I'm using is to import both CSVs to a SQL table and compare them using RedGate tooling and then dropping the SQL tables, however this seems inefficient.

Is there a better method for comparing such CSV files in Windows?

1
csvcomparebeyondcompare

1 Answers

1
votes

After digging into this further I have found that Beyond Compare does support this, but it's well hidden - go to Session > Session Settings... > Columns. By doing this I have been able to compare as intended originally.