Learning Python
Using Python
Python is a general-purpose interpreted programming language. It emphasizes readability through the use of whitespace and supports multiple programming paradigms such as functional and object-oriented models.
File Input and Output
In Python, working with files starts with a single function, open().
File Input
The first parameter of open() is the file to open. After that is the mode of file access.
| Character | Meaning |
|---|---|
'r' | open for reading (default) |
'w' | open for writing, truncating the file first |
'x' | open for exclusive creation, failing if the file already exists |
'a' | open for writing, appending to the end of the file if it exists |
'b' | binary mode |
't' | text mode (default) |
'+' | open a disk file for updating (reading and writing) |
To work with files, there are three different functions:
- read(): return one big string
- readline: return one line at a time
- readlines: returns a list of lines
File Output
For writing to files, there are two functions:
- write(): Save sequence of characters to a file
- writelines(): Save a list of strings.
Digital Ephemera 