Files in python can be opened in the following modes.
Mode | Description |
'r' | Read mode. (default) |
'w' | Write mode. Creates a new file if it does not exist or truncates the file if it exists. |
'x' | Open a file for exclusive creation. If the file already exists, the operation fails. |
'a' | Appending at the end of the file without truncating it. Creates a new file if it does not exist. |
't' | Open in text mode. (default) |
'b' | Open in binary mode. |
'+' | Open a file for updating (reading and writing) |
These modes can be used in combinations and need to be passed as the second argument when opening a file. If you don't specify a mode, files are opened in readonly text mode.
Example
f = open("test.txt") # Equivalent to rt or race f = open("test.txt", 'w') # Write in text mode f = open("test.bmp", 'r+b') # Read/write in binary mode f = open("test.txt", 'a') # Append mode