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File Handling in Python PDF

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Daksh Malik
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25 views

File Handling in Python PDF

Uploaded by

Daksh Malik
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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File Handling in Python

What is a fi le ?

• File is a named location on disk to store related


information. It is used to permanently store data in a
non-volatile memory (e.g. hard disk).
• Since, random access memory (RAM) is volatile which loses
its data when computer is turned off , we use files for
future use of the 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 resources that are tied with the file are
freed.
• Hence, in Python, a file operation takes place in the
following order.
– Open a file
– Read or writ e (perf orm operat ion)
– Close the file
Opening a fi le

• Python has a built-in function open() to open a


file. This function returns a fi le object, also
called a handle, as it is used to read or modify
t he file accordingly.
>>> f = open("test.txt")
• We can specify the mode while opening a file.
• In mode, we specify whether we want to read
'r', write 'w' or append 'a' to the file.
• We also specify if we want to open the fi le
in text mode or binary mode.
• The default is reading in text mode.
Python file modes
Examples

• f = open("test.txt")
# equivalent to 'r' or 'rt'
• f = open("test.txt",'w')
# write in text mode
•f =
open("img.bmp",'r+b')
# read and write in
binary mode
• f = open("test.txt",mode =
'r',encoding = 'utf-8')
# Specfied with encoding
Reading functions

• read(n)
– Read at most n charact ers form t he fi le. Reads
t ill end of file if it is negative or None.
• readable()
– Returns True if the file stream can be read
from.
• readline(n=-1)
– Read and ret urn one line from t he fi le.
Reads in at most n bytes if specified.
• readlines(n=-1)
– Read and return a list of lines from the file.
Reads in at most n bytes/characters if
specified.
read( )
readline( )
readlines( )
Example:

• Read a given file and count total number


of ‘the’ in the given file.
Solution
Problem:

• Given with three text files, count the


total of all the numerical elements from
these files.
• file1 file2 file3
Problem:

• Given the following file, count average


of the marks find the name of topper
student.
data.txt
Closing a fi le

• When we are done with operations to the


file, we need to properly close the file.
• Closing a file will free up the resources that
were tied with the file and is done using
Python close() method.
• Python has a garbage collector to clean up
unreferenced objects but, we must not rely
on it to close the file.
f = open("test.txt")
# perform file operations
f.close()
Writing the file

• In order t o write into a fi le in Pyt hon,


we need to open it in write 'w',
append 'a' or exclusive creation 'x'
mode.
• We need t o be careful wit h t he 'w' mode
as it will overwrite into the file if it
already exists. All previous data are
erased.
• Writing a string or sequence of byt es (for
binary files) is done using write()
method. This method returns the
number of characters written to the file.
Example:

with open("test.txt",'w') as f:
f.write("my first file\n")
f.write("This file\n\n")
f.write("contains three lines\n")
File writing methods

• writable()
– Returns True if the file stream can be
written to.
• write(s)
– Write string s to the file and
return the number of characters
written.
• writelines(lines)
– Write a list of lines t o t he fi le.
Sample File copy operation

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