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Python File Open
Open a File on the Server
Suppose 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, with a read() method for reading file contents:
Example
f = open("demofile.txt", "r")
print(f.read())
If the file is in a different location, you will need to specify a file path, as follows:
Example
Open a file on a different location:
f = open("D:\\myfiles\welcome.txt", "r")
print(f.read())
Read Only Parts of the File
By default the read() method returns all text, but you can also specify how many characters you want to return:
Example
Return the 5 first characters of the file:
f = open("demofile.txt", "r")
print(f.read(5))
Read Lines
You can restore one line using the readline() method:
Example
Read one line of the file:
f = open("demofile.txt", "r")
print(f.readline())
By calling the readline() twice, you can read the first two lines:
Example
Read two lines of the file:
f = open("demofile.txt", "r")
print(f.readline())
print(f.readline())
By opening file lines, you can read the entire file, line by line:
Example
Read two lines of the file:
f = open("demofile.txt", "r")
for x in f:
print(x)
Close Files
It is a good practice to always close the file when you are done with it.
Example
Close the file when you are finish with it:
f = open("demofile.txt", "r")
print(f.readline())
f.close()
Note: You should always close your files, in some cases, because of the bath, changes made to the file may not show until you close the file.