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+# cswave 
+
+`cswave` is a small, cross-platform utility to convert CSV sample data to WAVE files. This can be used to do further analysis or processing on the
+data using audio tooling.
+
+Any column of the input file can be used as sample data for a resulting monophonic wave file, in one of the supported formats
+
+* `i8`: 8 bit unsigned integer data
+* `i16`: 16bit signed little-endian data
+* `i32`: 32bit signed little-endian data
+* `f32`: 32bit IEEE float data
+
+Note that the integer output data formats only use the integer part of the input data, ie. when using the `i32` output format, the input sample
+value `1.23` is truncated to the output sample value `1`.
+
+When using the integer output data formats, the exact sample value is preserved (as long as it fits the storage size). For the `f32` format, the
+specification requires that the samples be normalized to the range `-1.0` to `1.0`, thus the sample values will not be preserved.
+
+Quoted text embedding the separation character `,` within CSV columns will confuse the CSV parser. Don't do that.
+
+## Building
+
+To build `cswave`, running `make` within the project directory on a machine with a working C compiler should work.
+
+To build the windows executable `cswave.exe`, the `mingw-w64` crosscompiler is required. Use `make cswave.exe` to build it.
+
+## Usage
+
+Call the tool using the invocation
+
+```
+./cswave <file.csv> <file.wav> <column> <samplerate> [<format>]
+```
+
+* `<file.csv>`: CSV input file
+* `<file.wav>`: Output file, will be overwritten without question if it already exists
+* `<column>`: Zero-based column index within the CSV (e.g., `0`)
+* `<samplerate>`: Integer sample rate of the resulting output file (e.g., `44100`)
+* `<format>`: Output file sample format as listed above, default `i16`