File I/O
Explore how to handle file input and output in Python by learning to open files in different modes, read contents using various methods, write data, and properly close files. Understand the benefits of the with statement for automated file management to work efficiently with text and binary files.
Introduction to file handling
To read or write a file, you must do three things:
- Open the file
- Use the file (reading or writing)
- Close the file
Opening files in Python
The file = open(file_name, mode) command opens and returns (in the variable file) a reference to the named file. In this case, mode would be one of the following:
rto read the file (This is the default ifmodeis omitted).wto erase and write the file.ato append to the end of an existing file.r+to both read and write.rb,wb,ab, and