DataSet API: CSV options and alternatives

DataSquirrel

Background
I posted a question earlier that had way too many parts, so I'm breaking out individual questions. Hopefully, these are easier to answer now and easier for other people to discover later. I can figure much of this out by testing myself, but am hoping others already know and can answer without much effort.

 

Question

I don't love CSV, but I do like that it's more compact than sending up typical XML or JSON. So that's good for performance/bandwidth. A couple of questions:

• Is there any payload alternative other than CSV? I believe that the answer is "no."
• Is it okay to "quote","each","value"? (The boss likes this style.) I believe that this is supported.

Thank you.

DataSquirrel

I've been checking the docs and they note that CSV is currently the only supported upload format for the DataSet API. I'm still curious about real-world experience with this API, if anyone cares to share.