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    File Handling

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    syedmuhammadnafeah
    A file is a container for storing data on a computer. Python has functions for opening, reading, writing, and closing files. The open() function is used to open a file and return a file object that has read and write methods. Files can be opened in different modes like read, write, append, etc.

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    File Handling

    Uploaded by

    syedmuhammadnafeah
    13 views3 pages
    A file is a container for storing data on a computer. Python has functions for opening, reading, writing, and closing files. The open() function is used to open a file and return a file object that has read and write methods. Files can be opened in different modes like read, write, append, etc.

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    A file is a container for storing data on a computer. Python has functions for opening, reading, writing, and closing files. The open() function is used to open a file and return a file object that has read and write methods. Files can be opened in different modes like read, write, append, etc.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    13 views3 pages

    File Handling

    Uploaded by

    syedmuhammadnafeah
    A file is a container for storing data on a computer. Python has functions for opening, reading, writing, and closing files. The open() function is used to open a file and return a file object that has read and write methods. Files can be opened in different modes like read, write, append, etc.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    File Handling

    A file is a container in computer storage devices used for storing data.


    When we want to read from or write to a file, we need to open it first. When we are done, it needs
    to be closed so that the resources that are tied with the file are freed.
    Python has several functions for creating, reading, updating, and deleting files.

     The key function for working with files in Python is the open() function.
     The open() function takes two parameters; filename, and mode.
     There are six different methods (modes) for opening a file:
    1. "r" - Read - Default value. Opens a file for reading, error if the file does not exist
    2. "a" - Append - Opens a file for appending, creates the file if it does not exist
    3. "w" - Write - Opens a file for writing, creates the file if it does not exist
    4. "x" - Create - Creates the specified file, returns an error if the file exists
    In addition you can specify if the file should be handled as binary or text mode
    5. "t" - Text - Default value. Text mode
    6. "b" - Binary - Binary mode (e.g. images)

    Syntax

    To open a file for reading it is enough to specify the name of the file:

    f = open("demofile.txt")

    The code above is the same as:

    f = open("demofile.txt", "rt")

    Because "r" for read, and "t" for text are the default values, you do not need to specify them.

    Open a File on the Server

    Assume we have the following file, located in the same folder as Python:

    demofile.txt
    Hello! Welcome to demofile.txt
    This file is for testing purposes.
    Good Luck!
    To open the file, use the built-in open() function.

    The open() function returns a file object, which has a read() method for reading the content of the
    file:

    Example

    f = open("demofile.txt", "r")
    print(f.read())

    If the file is located in a different location, you will have to specify the file path, like this:

    Example (Open a file on a different location)

    f = open("D:\\myfiles\welcome.txt", "r")
    print(f.read())

    Read Only Parts of the File

    By default the read() method returns the whole text, but you can also specify how many
    characters you want to return:

    Example (Return the 5 first characters of the file)


    f = open("demofile.txt", "r")
    print(f.read(5))

    Python File Write (Write to an Existing File)


    The write method in Python is used to write content to a file.
    To write to an existing file, you must add a parameter to the open() function:

     "a" - Append - will append to the end of the file


     "w" - Write - will overwrite any existing content

    Example (Open the file "demofile2.txt" and append content to the file)
    f = open("demofile2.txt", "a")
    f.write("Now the file has more content!")
    f.close()

    #open and read the file after the appending:


    f = open("demofile2.txt", "r")
    print(f.read())

    Example(Open the file "demofile3.txt" and overwrite the content)


    f = open("demofile3.txt", "w")
    f.write(" I have deleted the content!")
    f.close()

    #open and read the file after the overwriting:


    f = open("demofile3.txt", "r")
    print(f.read())

    Delete a File

    To delete a file, you must import the OS module, and run its os.remove() function:

    Example (Remove the file "demofile.txt")

    import os
    os.remove("demofile.txt")
    Check if File exist:

    To avoid getting an error, you might want to check if the file exists before you try to delete it:

    Example (Check if file exists, then delete it)

    import os
    if os.path.exists("demofile.txt"):
    os.remove("demofile.txt")
    else:
    print("The file does not exist")

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