File Handling
File handling involves working with files on your computer. can perform various operations such as reading from files, writing to files, and manipulating file contents. Here's a brief overview of file handling :
Opening a File: To work with a file, you first need to open it. Python provides the open() function for this purpose. It takes two arguments: the file name/path and the mode in which you want to open the file (read, write, append, etc.).
Modes:
'r': Open file for reading (default).
'w': Open file for writing. Creates a new file or truncates an existing file.
'x': Open a file for exclusive creation. If the file already exists, the operation fails.
'a': Open file for appending. Creates a new file if it does not exist.
'b': Open in binary mode.
't': Open in text mode (default).
'+': Open a file for updating (reading and writing).
Reading from a File: can read the contents of a file using methods like read(), readline(), or readlines().
Writing to a File: To write data to a file, you use the write() method. can also use writelines() to write a list of lines to the file.
Closing a File: After performing operations on a file, it's essential to close it using the close() method. This ensures that any resources associated with the file are properly released.
Context Managers (with statement): Python's with statement is commonly used in file handling. It automatically closes the file when the block inside with is exited, ensuring that resources are freed up. It's considered a safer and cleaner way to work with files.
Here's an example of reading from a file:
Python Code
# Open a file in read mode
with open('example.txt', 'r') as file:
# Read the entire content
content = file.read()
print(content)
And an example of writing to a file:
Python Code
# Open a file in write mode
with open('example.txt', 'w') as file:
# Write data to the file
file.write('Hello, world!')
Remember to handle exceptions when working with files, especially when opening, reading, or writing, to handle cases where the file may not exist or the operation may fail for some reason.