Starting out with Python

Fifth Edition

Chapter 6
Files and Exceptions

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Topics
• Introduction to File Input and Output
• Using Loops to Process Files
• Processing Records
• Exceptions

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Introduction to File Input and Output (1 of 4)
• For program to retain data between the times it is run,
you must save the data
– Data is saved to a file, typically on computer disk
– Saved data can be retrieved and used at a later time
• “Writing data to”: saving data on a file
• Output file: a file that data is written to

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Introduction to File Input and Output (2 of 4)

Figure 6-1 Writing data to a file

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Introduction to File Input and Output (3 of 4)
• “Reading data from”: process of retrieving data from a
file
• Input file: a file from which data is read
• Three steps when a program uses a file
– Open the file
– Process the file
– Close the file

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Introduction to File Input and Output (4 of 4)

Figure 6-2 Reading data from a file

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Types of Files and File Access Methods
• In general, two types of files
– Text file: contains data that has been encoded as text
– Binary file: contains data that has not been converted
to text
• Two ways to access data stored in file
– Sequential access: file read sequentially from
beginning to end, can’t skip ahead
– Direct access: can jump directly to any piece of data in
the file

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Filenames and File Objects (1 of 2)
• Filename extensions: short sequences of characters
that appear at the end of a filename preceded by a
period
– Extension indicates type of data stored in the file
• File object: object associated with a specific file
– Provides a way for a program to work with the file: file
object referenced by a variable

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Filenames and File Objects (2 of 2)

Figure 6-4 A variable name references a file object that is associated with a file

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Opening a File
• open function: used to open a file
– Creates a file object and associates it with a file on the
disk
– General format:
– file_object = open(filename, mode)
• Mode: string specifying how the file will be opened
– Example: reading only ('r'), writing ('w'), and
appending ('a')

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Specifying the Location of a File
• If open function receives a filename that does not
contain a path, assumes that file is in same directory
as program
• If program is running and file is created, it is created in
the same directory as the program
– Can specify alternative path and file name in the open
function argument
 Prefix the path string literal with the letter r

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Writing Data to a File
• Method: a function that belongs to an object
– Performs operations using that object
• File object’s write method used to write data to the
file
– Format: file_variable.write(string)
• File should be closed using file object close method
– Format: file_variable.close()

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Reading Data From a File
• read method: file object method that reads entire file
contents into memory
– Only works if file has been opened for reading
– Contents returned as a string
• readline method: file object method that reads a
line from the file
– Line returned as a string, including '\n'
• Read position: marks the location of the next item to
be read from a file

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Concatenating a Newline to and
Stripping it From a String
• In most cases, data items written to a file are values
referenced by variables
– Usually necessary to concatenate a '\n' to data
before writing it
 Carried out using the + operator in the argument of the
write method
• In many cases need to remove '\n' from string after
it is read from a file
– rstrip method: string method that strips specific
characters from end of the string

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Appending Data to an Existing File
• When open file with 'w' mode, if the file already
exists it is overwritten
• To append data to a file use the 'a'mode
– If file exists, it is not erased, and if it does not exist it is
created
– Data is written to the file at the end of the current
contents

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Writing and Reading Numeric Data
• Numbers must be converted to strings before they are
written to a file
• str function: converts value to string
• Number are read from a text file as strings
– Must be converted to numeric type in order to perform
mathematical operations
– Use int and float functions to convert string to
numeric value

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Using Loops to Process Files (1 of 2)
• Files typically used to hold large amounts of data
– Loop typically involved in reading from and writing to a
file
• Often the number of items stored in file is unknown
– The readline method uses an empty string as a
sentinel when end of file is reached
 Can write a while loop with the condition
while line != ''

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Using Loops to Process Files (2 of 2)

Figure 6-17 General logic for detecting the end of a file

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Using Python’s for Loop to Read Lines
• Python allows the programmer to write a for loop that
automatically reads lines in a file and stops when end
of file is reached
– Format: for line in file_object:
– statements
– The loop iterates once over each line in the file

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Processing Records (1 of 2)
• Record: set of data that describes one item
• Field: single piece of data within a record
• Write record to sequential access file by writing the
fields one after the other
• Read record from sequential access file by reading
each field until record complete

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Processing Records (2 of 2)
• When working with records, it is also important to be
able to:
– Add records
– Display records
– Search for a specific record
– Modify records
– Delete records

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Exceptions (1 of 4)
• Exception: error that occurs while a program is
running
– Usually causes program to abruptly halt
• Traceback: error message that gives information
regarding line numbers that caused the exception
– Indicates the type of exception and brief description of
the error that caused exception to be raised

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Exceptions (2 of 4)
• Many exceptions can be prevented by careful coding
– Example: input validation
– Usually involve a simple decision construct
• Some exceptions cannot be avoided by careful coding
– Examples
 Trying to convert non-numeric string to an integer
 Trying to open for reading a file that doesn’t exist

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Exceptions (3 of 4)
• Exception handler: code that responds when
exceptions are raised and prevents program from
crashing
– In Python, written as try/except statement
 General format: try:
statements
except exceptionName:
statements
 Try suite: statements that can potentially raise an
exception
 Handler: statements contained in except block

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Exceptions (4 of 4)
• If statement in try suite raises exception:
– Exception specified in except clause:
 Handler immediately following except clause executes
 Continue program after try/except statement
– Other exceptions:
 Program halts with traceback error message

• If no exception is raised, handlers are skipped

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Handling Multiple Exceptions
• Often code in try suite can throw more than one type
of exception
– Need to write except clause for each type of
exception that needs to be handled
• An except clause that does not list a specific
exception will handle any exception that is raised in
the try suite
– Should always be last in a series of except clauses

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Displaying an Exception’s Default Error
Message
• Exception object: object created in memory when an
exception is thrown
– Usually contains default error message pertaining to
the exception
– Can assign the exception object to a variable in an
except clause
 Example: except ValueErroraserr:
– Can pass exception object variable to print function
to display the default error message

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The else Clause
• try/except statement may include an optional
else clause, which appears after all the except
clauses
– Aligned with try and except clauses
– Syntax similar to else clause in decision structure
– Else suite: block of statements executed after
statements in try suite, only if no exceptions were
raised
 If exception was raised, the else suite is skipped

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The finally Clause
• try/except statement may include an optional
finally clause, which appears after all the except
clauses
– Aligned with try and except clauses
– General format: finally:
– statements
– Finally suite: block of statements after the finally
clause
 Execute whether an exception occurs or not
 Purpose is to perform cleanup before exiting

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What If an Exception Is Not Handled?
• Two ways for exception to go unhandled:
– No except clause specifying exception of the right type
– Exception raised outside a try suite
• In both cases, exception will cause the program to halt
– Python documentation provides information about
exceptions that can be raised by different functions

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Summary
• This chapter covered:
– Types of files and file access methods
– Filenames and file objects
– Writing data to a file
– Reading data from a file and determining when the end
of the file is reached
– Processing records
– Exceptions, including:
 Traceback messages
 Handling exceptions

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