intermediate python csv reader/writer question from a beginner

[labmice]

anything related to csv, I usually use VB within excel to manipulate
the data, nonetheless, i finally got the courage to take a dive into
python. i have viewed a lot of googled csv tutorials, but none of
them address everything i need. Nonetheless, I was wondering if
someone can help me manipulate the sample csv (sample.csv) I have
generated:

,,
someinfo,,,,,,,
somotherinfo,,,,,,,
SEQ,Names,Test1,Test2,Date,Time,,
1,Adam,1,2,Monday,1:00 PM,,
2,Bob,3,4,Monday,1:00 PM,,
3,Charlie,5,6,Monday,1:00 PM,,
4,Adam,7,8,Monday,2:00 PM,,
5,Bob,9,10,Monday,2:00 PM,,
6,Charlie,11,12,Monday,2:00 PM,,
7,Adam,13,14,Tuesday,1:00 PM,,
8,Bob,15,16,Tuesday,1:00 PM,,
9,Charlie,17,18,Tuesday,1:00 PM,,
 

into (newfile.csv):

Adam-Test1,Adam-Test2,Bob-Test1,Bob-Test2,Charlie-Test1,Charlie-
Test2,Date,Time
1,2,3,4,5,6,Monday,1:00 PM
7,8,9,10,11,12,Monday,2:00 PM
13,14,15,16,17,18,Tuesday,1:00 PM
 

note:
1. the true header doesn't start line 4 (if this is the case would i
have to use "split"?)
2. if there were SEQ#10-12, or 13-15, it would still be Adam, Bob,
Charlie, but with different Test1/Test2/Date/Time

[bvdet]

The key is to get the data into a dictionary that can be manipulated for your purpose. Note that the following code keeps the data in order:

import csv
labels = ['SEQ','Names','Test1','Test2','Date','Time']
f = open(r"csv1.txt")
 
n = 4
# skip first 4 lines
for i in range(4):
    f.next()
 
reader = csv.DictReader(f, labels)
readerDict = {}
 
for item in reader:
    for key in item:
        readerDict.setdefault(key, []).append(item[key])
 
f.close()
 
for key in labels:
    print key, readerDict[key]

Output:

>>> SEQ ['1', '2', '3', '4', '5', '6', '7', '8', '9']
Names ['Adam', 'Bob', 'Charlie', 'Adam', 'Bob', 'Charlie', 'Adam', 'Bob', 'Charlie']
Test1 ['1', '3', '5', '7', '9', '11', '13', '15', '17']
Test2 ['2', '4', '6', '8', '10', '12', '14', '16', '18']
Date ['Monday', 'Monday', 'Monday', 'Monday', 'Monday', 'Monday', 'Tuesday', 'Tuesday', 'Tuesday']
Time ['1:00 PM', '1:00 PM', '1:00 PM', '2:00 PM', '2:00 PM', '2:00 PM', '1:00 PM', '1:00 PM', '1:00 PM']
>>>