📖 Reading Files

Reading files in Python is like opening a book and extracting information from it. You can read the whole book at once, go through it page by page, or look for specific information. Understanding different reading techniques helps you work with files efficiently, whether they're small text files or large data sets.

Think of file reading as your program's way to learn from existing information - configuration files, user data, logs, or any text-based content.

# 🎯 File Reading Demo

# Create a sample file first
sample_text = """Welcome to Python file reading!
This file contains multiple lines.
Each line shows different concepts.
Reading files is essential for data processing.
Line 5: The end of our sample."""

# Save sample content
with open("sample.txt", "w") as file:
    file.write(sample_text)

# Method 1: Read entire file
print("📄 Reading entire file:")
with open("sample.txt", "r") as file:
    content = file.read()
    print(content)
    print(f"Total characters: {len(content)}")

# Method 2: Read line by line (memory efficient)
print("\n📝 Reading line by line:")
with open("sample.txt", "r") as file:
    for line_number, line in enumerate(file, 1):
        print(f"Line {line_number}: {line.strip()}")

# Method 3: Read all lines into a list
print("\n📋 Reading all lines:")
with open("sample.txt", "r") as file:
    lines = file.readlines()
    print(f"File has {len(lines)} lines")
    for i, line in enumerate(lines):
        word_count = len(line.strip().split())
        print(f"Line {i+1}: {word_count} words")

🎯 Understanding File Reading Methods

Python offers several ways to read files, each suited for different situations and file sizes.

📄 Text File Processing

Text files are the most common type you'll work with - from configuration files to user data.

# 📝 Text File Processing Examples

# Create a sample diary file
diary_content = """January 15, 2024
Today I learned Python file reading.
The weather was sunny and warm.
I coded for 2 hours.

January 16, 2024
Worked on file processing project.
File handling is very useful.
Excited to learn more!"""

with open("diary.txt", "w") as file:
    file.write(diary_content)

# Example 1: Count words and lines
print("📊 File Statistics:")
with open("diary.txt", "r") as file:
    content = file.read()
    words = content.split()
    lines = content.split('\n')
    
    print(f"   Total words: {len(words)}")
    print(f"   Total lines: {len(lines)}")
    print(f"   Characters: {len(content)}")

# Example 2: Find specific content
print("\n🔍 Search for dates:")
with open("diary.txt", "r") as file:
    for line_num, line in enumerate(file, 1):
        if "2024" in line:
            print(f"   Line {line_num}: {line.strip()}")

# Example 3: Process diary entries
print("\n📖 Extract entries:")
with open("diary.txt", "r") as file:
    current_entry = []
    entries = []
    
    for line in file:
        line = line.strip()
        if line and ("January" in line or "February" in line):
            if current_entry:
                entries.append(current_entry)
            current_entry = [line]
        elif line:
            current_entry.append(line)
    
    if current_entry:
        entries.append(current_entry)
    
    for i, entry in enumerate(entries, 1):
        print(f"   Entry {i}: {entry[0]}")

📊 Structured Text Files

CSV files and other structured formats need special handling to extract data properly.

# 📊 CSV File Processing

# Create sample employee data
csv_content = """Name,Age,City,Job
Alice Johnson,28,New York,Engineer
Bob Smith,34,Los Angeles,Designer
Carol Davis,26,Chicago,Teacher
David Wilson,31,Houston,Analyst"""

with open("employees.csv", "w") as file:
    file.write(csv_content)

print("👥 Processing Employee Data:")
print("-" * 35)

with open("employees.csv", "r") as file:
    # Read header line
    header = file.readline().strip().split(',')
    print(f"📋 Columns: {', '.join(header)}")
    
    # Process data lines
    employees = []
    for line_num, line in enumerate(file, 2):
        if line.strip():  # Skip empty lines
            data = line.strip().split(',')
            if len(data) == len(header):
                employee = dict(zip(header, data))
                employees.append(employee)
            else:
                print(f"⚠️ Line {line_num}: Wrong number of fields")

print(f"\n✅ Loaded {len(employees)} employees:")
for emp in employees:
    print(f"   {emp['Name']} ({emp['Age']}) - {emp['Job']} in {emp['City']}")

# Simple analysis
ages = [int(emp['Age']) for emp in employees]
print(f"\n📈 Average age: {sum(ages) / len(ages):.1f} years")

🔍 Large File Handling

For large files, memory-efficient reading is crucial to prevent your program from using too much RAM.

# 🗂️ Memory-Efficient Large File Processing

# Create a larger sample file
print("📝 Creating sample log file...")
with open("large_log.txt", "w") as file:
    for i in range(1000):
        file.write(f"2024-01-15 10:{i:02d}:30 INFO User {i%10} logged in\n")
        file.write(f"2024-01-15 10:{i:02d}:45 DEBUG Processing request {i}\n")

print("📊 Processing large file efficiently:")

# Method 1: Memory-efficient counting
line_count = 0
error_count = 0
user_logins = {}

with open("large_log.txt", "r") as file:
    for line in file:
        line_count += 1
        
        if "ERROR" in line:
            error_count += 1
        
        if "logged in" in line:
            # Extract user number
            parts = line.split()
            if len(parts) > 4:
                user = parts[4]
                user_logins[user] = user_logins.get(user, 0) + 1

print(f"   📈 Total lines: {line_count}")
print(f"   ❌ Errors found: {error_count}")
print(f"   👤 Unique users: {len(user_logins)}")
print(f"   🔄 Most active user: {max(user_logins.items(), key=lambda x: x[1])}")

# Method 2: Process in chunks
print("\n🔍 Finding specific patterns:")
search_term = "User 5"
matches = []

with open("large_log.txt", "r") as file:
    for line_num, line in enumerate(file, 1):
        if search_term in line:
            matches.append((line_num, line.strip()))
        
        # Stop after finding 5 matches for demo
        if len(matches) >= 5:
            break

print(f"   Found {len(matches)} matches for '{search_term}':")
for line_num, content in matches:
    print(f"   Line {line_num}: {content}")

📋 Configuration File Reading

Configuration files are common in applications - here's how to read them properly.

# ⚙️ Configuration File Processing

# Create a sample config file
config_text = """# My App Configuration
# Database settings
database_host = localhost
database_port = 5432
database_name = myapp

# User interface
theme = dark
language = english
max_items = 50

# Features (true/false)
debug_mode = true
auto_save = false"""

with open("app.config", "w") as file:
    file.write(config_text)

print("⚙️ Loading configuration:")

config = {}
with open("app.config", "r") as file:
    for line_num, line in enumerate(file, 1):
        line = line.strip()
        
        # Skip empty lines and comments
        if not line or line.startswith('#'):
            continue
        
        # Parse key = value pairs
        if '=' in line:
            key, value = line.split('=', 1)
            key = key.strip()
            value = value.strip()
            
            # Convert boolean strings
            if value.lower() == 'true':
                value = True
            elif value.lower() == 'false':
                value = False
            # Convert numbers
            elif value.isdigit():
                value = int(value)
            
            config[key] = value
        else:
            print(f"⚠️ Line {line_num}: Invalid format")

print("📋 Configuration loaded:")
for key, value in config.items():
    print(f"   {key}: {value} ({type(value).__name__})")

🛠️ Error Handling and File Validation

Reading files safely means handling potential errors and validating content.

🔒 Safe File Reading

import os

# 🛡️ Safe File Reading Examples

def safe_file_reader(filename):
    """Safely read file with comprehensive error handling"""
    
    # Check if file exists
    if not os.path.exists(filename):
        print(f"❌ File '{filename}' not found")
        return None
    
    try:
        with open(filename, "r", encoding="utf-8") as file:
            content = file.read()
            print(f"✅ Successfully read '{filename}' ({len(content)} chars)")
            return content
    
    except PermissionError:
        print(f"🚫 Permission denied: '{filename}'")
    except UnicodeDecodeError:
        print(f"🔤 Encoding error: '{filename}' - try different encoding")
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"❌ Unexpected error: {e}")
    
    return None

# Test safe reading
test_files = ["sample.txt", "missing.txt", "diary.txt"]

print("🔍 Testing file reading:")
for filename in test_files:
    result = safe_file_reader(filename)
    if result:
        lines = len(result.split('\n'))
        print(f"   📊 {filename}: {lines} lines")

📚 File Reading Reference

Quick reference for common file reading patterns and methods.

Essential File Reading Methods

Understanding core file reading methods enables efficient data processing and proper file handling in Python applications.

MethodPurposeExampleBest Practice
file.read()Read entire file contentcontent = file.read()Good for small files
file.read(size)Read specific number of characterschunk = file.read(1024)Control memory usage
file.readline()Read single lineline = file.readline()Process files line by line
file.readlines()Read all lines into listlines = file.readlines()Use for small to medium files
for line in file:Iterate through linesfor line in file:Most memory-efficient
file.seek(position)Move to position in filefile.seek(0)Reset to beginning
file.tell()Get current positionpos = file.tell()Track file pointer location
file.readable()Check if file is readablecan_read = file.readable()Verify before reading

Reading files effectively is a fundamental skill for Python programmers. Whether you're processing configuration files, analyzing log data, or reading user input, these techniques will help you handle files safely and efficiently.

Test Your Knowledge

Test your understanding of file reading techniques:

What's Next?

Now that you've mastered reading files, you're ready to learn about writing files. Discover how to create new files, save data, and update existing content effectively.

Ready to continue? Check out our lesson on Writing Files.

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