Rows of String Values is a data format used to represent a list of list of unicode strings (or nulls), as shown in this BNF:
RSV := RSV-row* RSV-Row := RSV-String-or-Null* Row-Terminator-Byte RSV-String-or-Null := ( String | Null-Value-Byte ) Value-Terminator-Byte String := a Unicode string encoded as UTF-8 Row-Terminator-Byte := 0xFD Value-Terminator-Byte := 0xFF Null-Value-Byte := 0xFE
Contrary to CSV, TSV, and similar formats, which use commas, tabs, and newlines, in RSV one can use UTF-8 string without modification thanks to the fact that the byte values used to separate the fields are never used by UTF-8. That is to say, we will never see 0xFD, 0xFF, or 0xFE in a UTF-8 encoded Unicode.
More information on RSV’s design can be found on:
The original specification repository written by Stefan John (a.k.a. Stenway) https://github.com/Stenway/RSV-Specification, and the video presentation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tb_70o6ohMA.