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PYTHON

The document provides an overview of file handling in Python, detailing the use of the open() function for creating, reading, updating, and deleting files. It explains different file modes such as read, write, and append, along with examples of how to open and manipulate files. Additionally, it covers how to check for file existence and delete files or folders using the OS module.

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harithlancelot123
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7 views

PYTHON

The document provides an overview of file handling in Python, detailing the use of the open() function for creating, reading, updating, and deleting files. It explains different file modes such as read, write, and append, along with examples of how to open and manipulate files. Additionally, it covers how to check for file existence and delete files or folders using the OS module.

Uploaded by

harithlancelot123
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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File Handling

File Open

 File handling is an important part of any web application.


 Python has several functions for creating, reading, updating, and
deleting files.
File Handling

The key function for working with files in Python is the open() function.
The open() function takes two parameters; filename, and mode.
There are four different methods (modes) for opening a file:
"r" - Read - Default value. Opens a file for reading, error if the file does not exist
"a" - Append - Opens a file for appending, creates the file if it does not exist
"w" - Write - Opens a file for writing, creates the file if it does not exist
"x" - Create - Creates the specified file, returns an error if the file exists

In addition you can specify if the file should be


handled as binary or text mode

"t" - Text - Default value. Text mode


"b" - Binary - Binary mode (e.g. images)
Syntax

To open a file for reading it is enough to specify the


name of the file:

f = open("demofile.txt")

f = open("demofile.txt", "rt")

Because "r" for read, and "t" for text are the default values, you do not need to specify them.
Open a File on the Server

 Assume we have the following file, located in the


same folder as Python:

demofile.txt
Hello! Welcome to demofile.txt
This file is for testing purposes.
Good Luck!
To open the file, use the built-in open() function.
The open() function returns a file object, which has a read() method
for reading the content of the file:
Sample Code

f = open("demofile.txt", "r")
print(f.read())
If the file is located in a different location, you will have to specify the file
path, like this:

f = open("D:\\myfiles\welcome.txt", "r")
print(f.read())
Read Only Parts of the File

Example:
Return the 5 first characters of the file:

f = open("demofile.txt", "r")
print(f.read(5))
File Write

Write to an Existing File


To write to an existing file, you must add a parameter to the open() function:
"a" - Append - will append to the end of the file
"w" - Write - will overwrite any existing content
Sample Code:

Open the file "demofile2.txt" and append content to the file:

f = open("demofile2.txt", "a")
f.write("Now the file has more content!")
f.close()

#open and read the file after the appending:


f = open("demofile2.txt", "r")
print(f.read())
Sample Code:

Open the file "demofile3.txt" and overwrite the content:

f = open("demofile3.txt", "w")
f.write("Woops! I have deleted the content!")
f.close()

#open and read the file after the overwriting:


f = open("demofile3.txt", "r")
print(f.read())
Create a New File

To create a new file in Python, use the open() method, with one of the following
parameters:
"x" - Create - will create a file, returns an error if the file exist
"a" - Append - will create a file if the specified file does not exist
"w" - Write - will create a file if the specified file does not exist
Create a file called "myfile.txt":

f = open("myfile.txt", "x") (Result: a new empty file is created!)

Create a new file if it does not exist:

f = open("myfile.txt", "w")
Delete File

To delete a file, you must import the OS module, and run its os.remove() function:

Remove the file "demofile.txt":

import os
os.remove("demofile.txt")
Check if File exist:

To avoid getting an error, you might want to check if the file exists before
you try to delete it:

Check if file exists, then delete it:


import os
if os.path.exists("demofile.txt"):
os.remove("demofile.txt")
else:
print("The file does not exist")
Delete Folder

To delete an entire folder, use the os.rmdir() method:

Remove the folder "myfolder":

import os
os.rmdir("myfolder")
END OF PRESENTATION

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