The ParserError is a specific type of error takeup when pandas experience an issue reading a CSV file. The error message might look something like this:
This message specifies that pandas expected three fields based on the header row or earlier rows but found an extra field in the selected line.
How To Fix ParserError: “Error tokenizing data”
Here are several solutions to tackle this error and get your programs running smoothly. Here are some solutions suggested by users on Stackoverflow and SkyTowner to help you resolve this error.
Check the error
To fix the error, we first need to understand the root basis. Here are some common reasons for this error:
- Wrong Delimiter: The file uses a different delimiter than what Pandas expects.
- Fix Lines: The file carries lines with extra fields or fixed data.
- Inconsistent Number of Columns: Some rows have more or not many columns than the header row.
- Not Visible Characters: Non-visible characters like tabs or spaces can cause issues.
1. Check the Delimiter
Make sure that the delimiter identified in read_csv matches the one used in the file. If the file uses tabs, set the sep parameter to ‘\t’:
2. Skip or Warn Bad Lines
Use the on_bad_lines parameter to skip lines with errors or to issue a warning:
3. Manually Specify Column Names
If the number of fields is inconsistent, you can manually specify column names:
4. Change the Parsing Engine
Switching from the default C engine to the Python engine can sometimes resolve the issue:
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