Unit Iii File Handling Functions

FILES AND EXCEPTIONS
A) FILE HANDLING
 Python file handling refers to the process of working with files on the filesystem.
 File handling in Python is a powerful and versatile tool that can be used to
perform a wide range of operations.
The four primary functions used for file handling in Python are:
 open() : Opens a file and returns a file object.
 read() : Reads data from a file.
 write() : Writes data to a file.
 close() : Closes the file, releasing its resources.
 Each line of a file is terminated with a special character, called the EOL or End of
Line characters like comma {,} or newline character.
Files can be categorized into two types based on their mode of operation:
 Text Files : These store data in plain text format. Examples
include .txt files.
 Binary Files : These store data in binary format, which is not human-
readable. Examples include images, videos, and executable files.
Advantages of File Handling in Python
 Versatility : File handling in Python allows you to perform a wide range of

operations, such as creating, reading, writing, appending, renaming, and
deleting files.
 Flexibility : File handling in Python is highly flexible, as it allows you to work
with different file types (e.g. text files, binary files, CSV files , etc.).
 User – friendly : Python provides a user-friendly interface for file handling,
making it easy to create, read, and manipulate files.
 Cross-platform : Python file-handling functions work across different
platforms (e.g. Windows, Mac, Linux)
Creating a file can be done in two ways

One way
Step 1: Open IDLE shell editor
Step 2: New file enter data
Step 3: Save the file as text file eg sample.txt
consider the following ” sample.txt ” file as an example.
Hello world
Welcome
123 456
Another way
To create a new file, we have to open a file using one of the two parameters:
 x: it will create a new empty text file iff there does not exist any file with the
same name; otherwise, it will throw an error
 w: it will create a file, whether any file exists with the same or not, i.e., it will not
return an error if the same file name exists.
nl = open ('nl.txt', 'x') # it will create a new empty file but will throw an error if the
same file name exists
nl = open ('nl.txt', 'w') # it will create a file but if the same file name exist it will
overwrite
Python File Open

 To open a file. We want to use Python’s inbuilt function open() .
 we have to specify the access_mode and name of the file.
Syntax:
File_object = open(filename, access_mode)
 File-Object - returns a file object called file handle which is stored in the
variable file_object.
 Filename: name of a file that has to be to open
 access_mode is an optional argument that represents the mode in which the file
has to be accessed
FILE OPEN MODES

r: open an existing file for a read operation
w: open an existing file for a write operation.Overwrites the file if the file
exists
a: open an existing file for append operation.It won’t override existing
data.
r+: To read and write data into the file.
We can modify the data starting from the beginning of the file.
w+: To write and read data. It overwrites the previous file if one exists, it
will truncate the file to zero length or create a file if it does not exist.
a+: To append and read data from the file. It won’t override existing data.
Working with Read mode

 Funtions used to read the data from a file
 Read(size)
 The read() method returns the specified number of bytes from the file.
 It takes the size as parameter.
 It is optional, means number of bytes to return.
Example
# Python code to illustrate read() mode
file = open("sample.txt", "r")
print (file.read())
Output:
Hello world
Welcome
123 456
# Python code to illustrate read() mode
file = open("sample.txt", "r")
print (file.read(5))
Output:
Hello
 Readline([n])
 The readline() method returns one line from the file.

 You can also specified how many bytes from the line to return, by using the size
parameter(n)
Example
f = open("sample.txt", "r")
print(f.readline())
Output:
Helloworld
 Readlines()
 The readlines() method returns all the line from the file.
Example
f = open("sample.txt", "r")
print(f.readlines())
Output:
Helloworld
Welcome
123 456
 We can also split lines while reading files in Python.

 The split() function splits the variable when space is encountered.
# Python code to illustrate split() functionwith open("geeks.txt", "r") as file:
data = file.readlines()
for line in data:
word = line.split()
print (word)
Output:
['Hello', 'world']
['Welcome']
['123', '456']
Working with write mode
 Functions used to write data into a file.
 Write()
 Writelines()
 write() : Inserts the string str1 in a single line in the text file.
File_object.write(str1)
 writelines() : For a list of string elements, each string is inserted in the text file.
 Used to insert multiple strings at a single time.
 Each string in the list is written to the file sequentially without adding any
newline characters automatically.
File_object.writelines(L)
for L = [str1, str2, str3]
# Python code to illustrate write()
file = open('sample.txt','w')
file.write("This is the write command")
file.write("It allows us to write in a particular file")
file.close()
Output:
This is the write command
It allows us to write in a particular file
We can also use the written statement along with the with() function.
# Python code to illustrate with() alongwith write()
with open("file.txt", "w") as f:
f.write("Hello World!!!")
Output:
Hello World!!!
# Python code to illustrate writelines()
# List of lines to write to the file

lines = ["First line\n", "Second line\n", "Third line\n"]
# Open a file in write mode
with open("example.txt", "w") as file:
file.writelines(lines)
print ("File opened successfully!!")
Working of Append Mode

 When the file is opened in append mode in Python, the handle is positioned at
the end of the file.
 The data being written will be inserted at the end, after the existing data.
 Append Only (‘a’): Open the file for writing.
 Append and Read (‘a+’): Open the file for reading and writing.
# Python code to illustrate append mode
file = open('sample.txt', 'a')
file.write("This will add this line")
file.close()
Output:
This is the write command
It allows us to write in a particular file
This will add this line
Closing a file
 The close() method closes an open file.
 You should always close your files, in some cases, due to buffering, changes
made to a file may not show until you close the file.
Syntax
file.close()
# Python code to illustrate close function
file = open('sample.txt', 'w')
file.write("python programming ")
file.close()
Additional functions in files
Tell() - returns the current file position in a file stream

Seek() - to change the current file position
Rename() -
 To rename a file use os.rename() function.

 This function takes two arguments: the current filename and the new filename.
Syntax
os.rename(current_file_name, new_file_name)
Remove()
 To delete a file use os.remove() function.

 This function deletes a file specified by its filename.
Syntax
os.remove(file_name)

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FILES AND EXCEPTIONS

Advantages of File Handling in Python

 Versatility : File handling in Python allows you to perform a wide range of

Creating a file can be done in two ways

Python File Open

FILE OPEN MODES

Working with Read mode

# Python code to illustrate read() mode

file = open("sample.txt", "r")

file = open("sample.txt", "r")

 The readline() method returns one line from the file.

 We can also split lines while reading files in Python.

 Functions used to write data into a file.

# Python code to illustrate write()

file.write("This is the write command")

file.write("It allows us to write in a particular file")

with open("file.txt", "w") as f:

# Python code to illustrate writelines()

# List of lines to write to the file

Working of Append Mode

file = open('sample.txt', 'a')

file.write("This will add this line")

 The close() method closes an open file.

# Python code to illustrate close function

file = open('sample.txt', 'w')

file.write("python programming ")

Additional functions in files

Tell() - returns the current file position in a file stream

 To rename a file use os.rename() function.

 To delete a file use os.remove() function.

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