read(), readlines() and Other Methods in Python
Python provides several methods to read from and manipulate files. Here are some common methods:
1. read()
The read()
method reads the entire content of a file and returns it as a string.
# Open the file in read mode
with open('example.txt', 'r') as file:
# Read the entire content of the file
content = file.read()
print(content)
2. readlines()
The readlines()
method reads all the lines of a file and returns a list where each element is a line in the file.
# Open the file in read mode
with open('example.txt', 'r') as file:
# Read all lines of the file
lines = file.readlines()
for line in lines:
print(line.strip()) # strip() removes the newline character
3. readline()
The readline()
method reads one line from the file and returns it as a string.
# Open the file in read mode
with open('example.txt', 'r') as file:
# Read the first line of the file
first_line = file.readline()
print(first_line)
4. write()
The write()
method writes a string to the file. If the file is opened in write or append mode, it will create the file if it does not exist.
# Open the file in write mode
with open('example.txt', 'w') as file:
# Write a string to the file
file.write('Hello, World!')
5. writelines()
The writelines()
method writes a list of strings to the file. Each string in the list will be written as a line in the file.
# Open the file in write mode
with open('example.txt', 'w') as file:
# Write a list of strings to the file
lines = ['Hello, World!\n', 'Python is great!\n']
file.writelines(lines)
6. close()
The close()
method closes the file. It is a good practice to always close the file after performing operations on it. Using the with
statement as shown above is recommended as it handles closing the file automatically.
# Open the file in read mode
file = open('example.txt', 'r')
# Perform file operations
content = file.read()
print(content)
# Close the file
file.close()