Python File I/O

File is a named location ondisk to store related information. It is used to permanently storedata in a non-volatile memory (e.g. hard disk). Since, random accessmemory (RAM) is volatile which loses its data when computer isturned off, we use files for future use of the data.

When we want to read fromor write to a file we need to open it first. When we are done, itneeds to be closed, so that resources that are tied with the fileare freed. Hence, in Python, a file operation takes place in thefollowing order.

1. Open a file

2. Read or write (performoperation)

3. Close the file

1. Opening a File

Python has a built-infunction open()to open a file. This function returns a file object, also called ahandle, as it is used to read or modify the file accordingly.

	>>> f =
	open("test.txt")    # open file in current directory

	>>> f =
	open("C:/Python33/README.txt")  # specifying full path

We can specify the modewhile 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 wantto open the file in text mode or binary mode. The default is readingin text mode. In this mode, we get strings when reading from thefile. On the other hand, binary mode returns bytes and this is themode to be used when dealing with non-text files like image or exefiles.

PythonFile Modes

Mode	Description
'r'	Open a file for reading.(default)
'w'	Open a file for writing.Creates a new file if it does not exist or truncates the file ifit exists.
'x'	Open a file forexclusive creation. If the file already exists, the operationfails.
'a'	Open for appending atthe end of the file without truncating it. Creates a new file ifit does not exist.
't'	Open in text mode.(default)
'b'	Open in binary mode.
'+'	Open a file for updating(reading and writing)

	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

Since the version 3.x,Python has made a clear distinction between str(text) and bytes(8-bits). Unlike other languages, the character 'a' does not implythe number 97 until it is encoded using ASCII(or other equivalent encodings). Hence, when working with files intext mode, it is recommended to specify the encoding type. Files arestored in bytes in the disk, we need to decode them into strwhen we read into Python. Similarly, encoding is performed whilewriting texts to the file.

The default encoding isplatform dependent. In windows, it is 'cp1252' but 'utf-8' in Linux.Hence, we must not rely on the default encoding otherwise, our codewill behave differently in different platforms. Thus, this is thepreferred way to open a file for reading in text mode.

f
	= open("test.txt",mode = 'r',encoding = 'utf-8')

1. 2. Closing a File

When we are done withoperations to the file, we need to properly close it. Python has agarbage collector to clean up unreferenced objects. But we must notrely on it to close the file. Closing a file will free up theresources that were tied with the file and is done using the close()method.

	f =
	open("test.txt",encoding = 'utf-8')

	# perform file
	operations

	f.close()

This method is not entirelysafe. If an exception occurs when we are performing some operationwith the file, the code exits without closing the file. A safer wayis to use a try...finallyblock.

	try:

	   f
	= open("test.txt",encoding = 'utf-8')

	   #
	perform file operations

	finally:

	   f.close()

This way, we are guaranteedthat the file is properly closed even if an exception is raised,causing program flow to stop.

The best way to do this isusing the withstatement. This ensures that the file is closed when the blockinside withis exited. We don't need to explicitly call the close()method. It is done internally.

	with
	open("test.txt",encoding = 'utf-8') as f:

	   #
	perform file operations

1. 4. Writing to a File

In order to write into afile we need to open it in write 'w', append 'a' or exclusivecreation 'x' mode. We need to be careful with the 'w' mode as itwill overwrite into the file if it already exists. All previous dataare erased.

Writing a string orsequence of bytes (for binary files) is done using write()method. This method returns the number of characters written to thefile.

	with
	open("test.txt",'w',encoding = 'utf-8') as f:

	   f.write("my
	first file\n")

	   f.write("This
	file\n\n")

	   f.write("contains
	three lines\n")

This program will create anew file named 'test.txt' if it does not exist. If it does exist, itis overwritten. We must include the newline characters ourselves todistinguish different lines.

1. 5. Reading From a File

To read the content of afile, we must open the file in reading mode. There are variousmethods available for this purpose. We can use the read(size)method to read in sizenumber of data. If sizeparameter is not specified, it reads and returns up to the end ofthe file.

	>>> f =
	open("test.txt",'r',encoding = 'utf-8')

	>>> f.read(4)  
	 # read the first 4 data

	'This'

	>>> f.read(4)  
	 # read the next 4 data

	' is '

	>>> f.read()   
	 # read in the rest till end of file

	'my first file\nThis
	file\ncontains three lines\n'

	>>> f.read()  #
	further reading returns empty sting

	''

We can see, that read()method returns newline as '\n'. Once the end of file is reached, weget empty string on further reading. We can change our current filecursor (position) using the seek()method. Similarly, the tell()method returns our current position (in number of bytes).

	>>> f.tell()   
	# get the current file position

	56

	>>> f.seek(0)  
	# bring file cursor to initial position

	0

	>>>
	print(f.read())  # read the entire file

	This is my first file

	This file

	contains three lines

We can read a fileline-by-line using a forloop. This is both efficient and fast.

	>>> for line in
	f:

	...     print(line, end
	= '')

	...

	This is my first file

	This file

	contains three lines

The lines in file itselfhas a newline character '\n'. Moreover,the print()function also appends a newline by default. Hence, we specify theendparameter to avoid two newlines when printing.

Alternately, we can usereadline()method to read individual lines of a file. This method reads a filetill the newline, including the newline character.

	>>>
	f.readline()

	'This is my first
	file\n'

	>>>
	f.readline()

	'This file\n'

	>>>
	f.readline()

	'contains three lines\n'

	>>>
	f.readline()

	''

Lastly, the readlines()method returns a list of remaining lines of the entire file. Allthese reading method return empty values when end of file (EOF) isreached.

	>>>
	f.readlines()

	['This is my first
	file\n', 'This file\n', 'contains three lines\n']

1. 6. Python File Methods

There are various methodsavailable with the file object. Some of them have been used in aboveexamples. Here is the complete list of methods in text mode with abrief description.

PythonFile Methods

Method	Description
close()	Close an open file. Ithas no effect if the file is already closed.
detach()	Separate the underlyingbinary buffer from the TextIOBaseand return it.
fileno()	Return an integer number(file descriptor) of the file.
flush()	Flush the write buffer ofthe file stream.
isatty()	Return Trueif the file stream is interactive.
read(n)	Read atmost ncharacters form the file. Reads till end of file if it is negativeor None.
readable()	Returns Trueif the file stream can be read from.
readline(n=-1)	Read and return one linefrom the file. Reads in at most nbytes if specified.
readlines(n=-1)	Read and return a list oflines from the file. Reads in at most nbytes/characters if specified.
seek(offset,from=SEEK_SET)	Change the file positionto offsetbytes, in reference to from(start, current, end).
seekable()	Returns Trueif the file stream supports random access.
tell()	Returns the current filelocation.
truncate(size=None)	Resize the file stream tosizebytes. If sizeis not specified, resize to current location.
writable()	Returns Trueif the file stream can be written to.
write(s)	Write string sto the file and return the number of characters written.
writelines(lines)	Write a list of linesto the file.