File handling is an important part of any programming language. Python offers several functions for handling files, such
as opening, reading, creating, writing, closing, or deleting them. In this article, we will discuss file handling in
Python.
What is File Handling in Python Language?
File handling is the ability to work with files on a computer’s file system using Python programming language. It involves
various operations on the file, such as creating a file, reading, writing, appending and closing the file. Python
provides built-in functions and methods before those file operations efficiently.
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File Handling Functions
The most commonly used file-handling functions are open(), read() and write(). The following table describes some common
file-handling functions in the Python language.
Here is the table:
| Functions | Descriptions |
| open() | Used to open a file |
| readable() | This function checks whether the file can be read or not |
| readline() | This function reads a single line from a file |
| read() | This read the whole content of the file |
| writable() | This function checks whether the file is writable or not |
| write() | This function writes a string to the file. |
| writelines() | This function used to write multiple string at at time |
| close() | This function is used to close the file from the program. |
Opening a File in Python
There is the open() function in Python language for opening a file. The basic syntax of a file in
Python language.
Syntax
file_object = open(‘file_name’, ‘mode’)
The open() function takes two parameters.
- File_name: This parameter includes the file extension with its current working. If the file
location is elsewhere, then provide the absolute or relative path. - Mode: This is an optional parameter that defines the file opening method. The following table
describes possible options that can be passed.
Mode parameter table options:
| Mode | Description |
| ‘r’ | This option reads a file and returns an error. If the file does not exist |
| ‘w’ | Writes to a file and creates the file if it does not exist or overwrites an existing file. |
| ‘x’ | Exclusive creation that fails if the file already exists. |
| ‘a’ | This mode appends and creates the file. If a file does not exist or overwrites an existing file. |
| ‘b’ | This mode is used for non-textual files such as images |
| ‘t’ | Text mode. Use only for textual files by default |
| ‘+’ | Activates read and write methods. |
Let’s open a file opening using the open() method
Filename: file.txt
Hello Neeraj Kumar, How are you
Program
file = open(“file.txt”,“r”)
content = file.read()
print(content)
file.close()
Output
Hello Neeraj Kumar, How are you
Reading a File in Python
To read a file in Python language, the file must first be opened in the read mode. Python language offers several
methods of reading. If you want a read-only first line, use readline(), and if you want to read all the lines, use
redlines (). If you want to read a few characters of the file. Use the read(size) method. This method read() is used to
read all the content at a time.
The following program demonstrates the reading of a file in Python:
Filename: file.txt
Hello Neeraj Kumar, How are you
Hello, Buddy, I am a software engineer
Program
# Open file in read mode
file = open("file.txt", "r")
# Read entire file content
content = file.readline()
print(content)
# Close the file
file.close()
Output
Hello Neeraj Kumar, How are you
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Creating Files in Python
To create a new file, you have to pass ‘w’ in the second parameter in the open function in Python. The following program
demonstrates how to create a file in Python.
Progarm
# Open a file in write mode
with open(“file2.txt”, “w”) as file:
# Write some content into the file
file.write(“Hello, world!n“)
file.write(“This is a Python file created using Python.n“)
file.write(“Isn’t it cool?n“)
Writing to Existing Files in Python
We can use the append method, which means appending something to a file. The ‘a’ mode allows you to open a file and
append content to it.
The following program appends a new at the end of the file.
f = open("file2.txt", "a")
f.write("\nNew Line")
f.close()
Output
Hello, world!
This is a Python file created using Python.
Isn't it cool?
New Line
Closing the Files in Python
It is a good practice to close a file after work is completed in your specific file. There is a close() function. That
can be used for closing a file
To close a file, run the close() method on the file object.
f.close()
The following program demonstrates the close method example:
Program
f = open("data", "r")
f.close()
Deleting Files in Python
Removing files in Python requires establishing communication with the operating system. There is an OS library that
has a remove() method that we can use to delete a file.
The following program demonstrates the deletion of files in Python language.
Program
import os
if os.path.exists(‘file.txt’):
os.remove(“file.txt”)
else:
print(“The file does not exist”)
Conclusion
In this article, we learned about file handling in the Python language. File handling is very essential for various data
manipulation tasks. Understanding file handling in Python is essential for various data manipulation tasks. By
understanding basic operations like creating, opening, reading, writing, appending, and closing files, developers can
efficiently manage external data sources, ensuring robustness and reliability.
How to close the file in Python language?
How to open a file in Python language?
How do I read the contents of a file in Python?
How do I write a file in Python?
Updated on July 17, 2024