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20 views5 pages

Oct 3

Uploaded by

Smitha.A Smitha.A
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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2.

Handout
File Handling in Python: Student Handout
Welcome to the session on File Handling in Python! This guide will help you understand
how to work with files in Python, including reading, writing, and appending data. Let's dive
into the key concepts and examples.

1. What is File Handling?


File handling involves opening, reading, writing, and closing files in a program. Files can
store various types of data, such as text or numbers.

2. Opening a File
To work with a file, you must first open it using the open() function.

Syntax:

file = open("filename.txt", "mode")

File Modes:
"r" : Read mode
"w" : Write mode
"a" : Append mode
"r+" : Read and write mode

Examples:
1. Open a file for reading:

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


2. Open a file for writing:

file = open("example.txt", "w")

3. Open a file for appending:

file = open("example.txt", "a")

3. Reading from a File


Once a file is opened in read mode, you can read its content.

Examples:
1. Read the entire file:

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


content = file.read()
print(content)
file.close()

2. Read line by line:

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


for line in file:
print(line)
file.close()

3. Read specific number of characters:

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


content = file.read(10) # Reads the first 10 characters
print(content)
file.close()

4. Writing to a File
To write data to a file, open it in write ( "w" ) or append ( "a" ) mode.

Examples:
1. Write to a file (overwrite):

file = open("example.txt", "w")


file.write("Hello, World!")
file.close()

2. Append to a file:

file = open("example.txt", "a")


file.write("\nThis is a new line.")
file.close()

3. Write multiple lines:

file = open("example.txt", "w")


lines = ["Line 1\n", "Line 2\n", "Line 3\n"]
file.writelines(lines)
file.close()

5. Closing a File
Always close a file after use to free up system resources.

Example:

file.close()

6. Working with Different File Modes


Summary of File Modes:
Mode Description
"r" Read mode (default). Opens the file for reading.
"w" Write mode. Opens the file for writing (overwrites existing content).
"a" Append mode. Opens the file for appending new data.
"r+" Read and write mode. Opens the file for both reading and writing.

7. Writing Programs to Read and Process Data from


Files
Example: Calculate the sum of numbers in a file

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


total = 0

for line in file:


total += int(line.strip()) # Convert each line to an integer and add
to total

file.close()
print("The sum of the numbers is:", total)

8. Understanding Python Modules and Libraries


Python modules and libraries provide additional functionality.

Popular Libraries:
math: Mathematical functions
datetime: Date and time functions
os: Operating system interactions
sys: System-specific parameters and functions

9. Activity: Using a Python Library and Handling Errors


Example: Check if a file exists and handle errors
import os

filename = "example.txt"

try:
if os.path.exists(filename):
file = open(filename, "r")
print(file.read())
file.close()
else:
print(f"The file {filename} does not exist.")
except Exception as e:
print(f"An error occurred: {e}")

Conclusion
In this session, you learned about file handling in Python, including:

Opening files in different modes


Reading from and writing to files
Closing files
Using Python libraries and handling errors

Key Takeaways:
Always close a file after use.
Choose the appropriate file mode for your task.
Handle errors using try-except blocks.

This handout should take approximately 10-15 minutes to read. Feel free to practice the
examples and ask questions if needed!

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