Converting mixed-format .DAT to .CSV (or anything else)

Question

I have a large collection of DAT files that need to be converted (eventually to a unique file type). The DAT\'s have a mixed amount of whitespace between fields, and the column

Answer 1

Treat those header lines in the input file with all the disdain they deserve. (Or, in other words, read them and discard them.)

headers='Year Month Day Hour Minute Direct Diffuse2 D_Global D_IR U_Global U_IR Zenith'
with open ( 'temp.dat') as input_file:
    with open ('temp_2.csv', 'w') as output_file:
        output_file.write('"%s"\n'%'","'.join(headers.split()))
        for count, line in enumerate(input_file):
            if count<4: continue
            outLine = ','.join(line.split())
            output_file.write(outLine + '\n')