Characters are being added when loading data from CSV file to DB2?

Question

I have a bit of an odd problem - I have a table in my database which is defined like this:

CREATE TABLE MYSCHEMA.TABLE1
(
SEGMENT_1   VARCHAR(20),
SEGMENT_2   VARCHAR(20),
PRIORITY    INT
)
IN MYSCHEMA
COMPRESS YES
;

I'm trying to load data into it from a csv file using IBM Data Studio's data load function. The data in the csv looks like this (there is no header row):

1. SEGMENT_A | 1. SEGMENT_C | 1
1. SEGMENT_A | 2. SEGMENT_D | 3
1. SEGMENT_A | 3. SEGMENT_E | 4
2. SEGMENT_B | 1. SEGMENT_C | 2
2. SEGMENT_B | 2. SEGMENT_D | 5

The data all loads into the table with no errors. However, for some reason a couple of characters are being added to the first row, so that when I query all data from the table the results look like this:

SEGMENT_1      | SEGMENT_2    | PRIORITY
---------------|--------------|---------
»¿1. SEGMENT_A | 1. SEGMENT_C | 1
1. SEGMENT_A   | 2. SEGMENT_D | 3
1. SEGMENT_A   | 3. SEGMENT_E | 4
2. SEGMENT_B   | 1. SEGMENT_C | 2
2. SEGMENT_B   | 2. SEGMENT_D | 5

I would expect the data to look exactly as it does in the csv file, i.e. without the characters »¿ being included in the first row.

I have confirmed using Excel's equals function that the value '1. SEGMENT_A' which is having these characters added to it is identical to the value '1. SEGMENT_A' elsewhere in the csv file which is not having the characters added to it.

Does anyone know why this might be happening and how to fix it please?

Answer 1

Answer has been supplied in the comments by mao:

Looks like your CSV file has a BOM (byte order mark), verify this with a hex editor. You can arrange for the CSV file to be delivered or created without a BOM

When saving the csv file in Excel, under Save as type select CSV instead of CSV UTF-8. Selecting CSV results in a file that can be loaded without the extra characters being added. Selecting other options may also work, but I haven't tested these.