I'm having trouble with processing some csv data files for a project. The project's programmer has moved onto greener pastures, and now I'm trying to finish the data analysis up (I did/do the statistical analysis.) The programmer suggested using python/csv reader to help break down the files, which I've had some success with, but not in a way I can use.

This code is a little different from what I was trying before. I am essentially attempting to create an array. In the raw data format, the first 7 rows contain no data, and then each column contains 50 experiments, each with 4000 rows, for 200000 some rows total. What I want to do is take each column, and make it an individual csv file, with each experiment in its own column. So it would be an array of 50 columns and 4000 rows for each data type. The code here does break down the correct values, I think the logic is okay, but it is breaking down the opposite of how I want it. I want the separators without quotes (the commas and spaces) and I want the element values in quotes. Right now it is doing just the opposite for both, element values with no quotes, and the separators in quotes. I've spent several hours trying to figure out how to do this to no avail,

import csv  

ifile  = open('00_follow_maverick.csv')  
epistemicfile = open('00_follower_maverick_EP.csv', 'w')  

reader = csv.reader(ifile)  

colnum = 0  
rownum = 0  
y = 0  
z = 8   
for column in reader:  
    rownum = 4000 * y + z  
    for element in column:  
        writer = csv.writer(epistemicfile)  
        if y <= 50:  
            y = y + 1  
            writer.writerow([element])  
            writer.writerow(',')  
            rownum = x * y + z  
        if y > 50:  
            y = 0  
            z = z + 1  
            writer.writerow(' ')  
            rownum = x * y + z  
        if z >= 4008:  
            break  

What is going on: I am taking each row in the raw data file in iterations of 4000, so that I can separate them with commas for the 50 experiments. When y, the experiment indicator here, reaches 50, it resets back to experiment 0, and adds 1 to z, which tells it which row to look at, by the formula of 4000 * y + z. When it completes the rows for all 50 experiments, it is finished. The problem here is that I don't know how to get python to write the actual values in quotes, and my separators outside of quotes.

Any help will be most appreciated. Apologies if this seems a stupid question, I have no programming experience, this is my first attempt ever. Thank you.