Starting Out with Python

Sixth Edition

Chapter 6
Files and Exceptions

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Topics
• Introduction to File Input and Output
• Using Loops to Process Files
• Using the with Statement to Open Files
• Processing Records
• Exceptions

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Introduction to File Input and Output (1 of 2)

• For program to retain data between the times it is

run, you must save the data
– Data is saved to a file, typically on computer disk
– Saved data can be retrieved and used at a later time
• “Writing data to”: saving data on a file
• Output file: a file that data is written to

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Figure 6-1 Writing Data to a File

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Introduction to File Input and Output (2 of 2)

• “Reading data from”: process of retrieving data from

a file
• Input file: a file from which data is read
• Three steps when a program uses a file
– Open the file
– Process the file
– Close the file

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Figure 6-2 Reading Data From a File

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Types of Files and File Access Methods
• In general, two types of files
– Text file: contains data that has been encoded as
text
– Binary file: contains data that has not been
converted to text
• Two ways to access data stored in file
– Sequential access: file read sequentially from
beginning to end, can’t skip ahead
– Direct access: can jump directly to any piece of data
in the file

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Filenames and File Objects (1 of 2)
• Filename extensions: short sequences of characters
that appear at the end of a filename preceded by a
period
– Extension indicates type of data stored in the file
• File object: object associated with a specific file
– Provides a way for a program to work with the file: file
object referenced by a variable

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Filenames and File Objects (2 of 2)
Figure 6-4 A variable name references a file object that is
associated with a file

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Opening a File
• open function: used to open a file
– Creates a file object and associates it with a file on
the disk
– General format:
– file_object = open(filename, mode)
• Mode: string specifying how the file will be opened
– Example: reading only ('r'), writing ('w'), and
appending ('a')

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Specifying the Location of a File
• If open function receives a filename that does not
contain a path, assumes that file is in same directory
as program
• If program is running and file is created, it is created
in the same directory as the program
– Can specify alternative path and file name in the
open function argument
▪ Prefix the path string literal with the letter r

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Writing Data to a File
• Method: a function that belongs to an object
– Performs operations using that object
• File object’s write method used to write data to the
file
– Format: file_variable.write(string)
• File should be closed using file object close method
– Format: file_variable.close()

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Reading Data From a File
• read method: file object method that reads entire file
contents into memory
– Only works if file has been opened for reading
– Contents returned as a string
• readline method: file object method that reads a
line from the file
– Line returned as a string, including '\n'
• Read position: marks the location of the next item to
be read from a file

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Concatenating a Newline to and Stripping
it From a String
• In most cases, data items written to a file are values
referenced by variables
– Usually necessary to concatenate a '\n' to data
before writing it
▪ Carried out using the + operator in the argument of
the write method
• In many cases need to remove '\n' from string after
it is read from a file
– rstrip method: string method that strips specific
characters from end of the string

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Appending Data to an Existing File
• When open file with 'w' mode, if the file already
exists it is overwritten
• To append data to a file use the 'a' mode
– If file exists, it is not erased, and if it does not exist it
is created
– Data is written to the file at the end of the current
contents

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Writing and Reading Numeric Data
• Numbers must be converted to strings before they
are written to a file
• str function: converts value to string
• Number are read from a text file as strings
– Must be converted to numeric type in order to perform
mathematical operations
– Use int and float functions to convert string to
numeric value

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Using Loops to Process Files
• Files typically used to hold large amounts of data
– Loop typically involved in reading from and writing to
a file
• Often the number of items stored in file is unknown
– The readline method uses an empty string as a
sentinel when end of file is reached
▪ Can write a while loop with the condition
while line != ''

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Figure 6-17 General Logic for Detecting
the End of a File

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Using Python’s for Loop to Read Lines
• Python allows the programmer to write a for loop
that automatically reads lines in a file and stops
when end of file is reached
– Format: for line in file_object:
– statements
– The loop iterates once over each line in the file

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Using the with Statement to Open Files (1 of 4)

• The with statement can be used to open a file and

automatically close the file. General format:
with open(filename, mode) as file_variable:
statement
statement
etc.
– filename is a string specifying the name of the file
– mode is a string specifying the mode, such as 'r', 'w', or 'a'
– file_variable is the name of the variable that will reference
the file object
– The indented block of statements is known as the with suite

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Using the with Statement to Open Files (2 of 4)

• Example:

with open('myfile.txt', 'w') as output_file:

statement
statement
etc.

• This example opens a file named myfile.txt

• Code inside the with suite can use output_file to write data
to the file
• When the code inside the with suite has finished, the file is
automatically closed

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Using the with Statement to Open Files (3 of 4)

• Example:

with open('myfile.txt', 'r') as input_file:

statement
statement
etc.

• This example opens a file named myfile.txt

• Code inside the with suite can use input_file to read data
from the file
• When the code inside the with suite has finished, the file is
automatically closed

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Using the with Statement to Open Files (4 of 4)

• Opening multiple files with a with statement:

with open('file1.txt', 'r') as input_file,

open('file2.txt', 'w') as output_file:
statement
statement
etc.
• This example opens a file named file1.txt for reading, and a
file named file2.txt for writing
• Code inside the with suite can use input_file to read data
from file1.txt and output_file to write data to file2.txt
• When the code inside the with suite has finished, both files are
automatically closed

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Processing Records (1 of 2)
• Record: set of data that describes one item
• Field: single piece of data within a record
• Write record to sequential access file by writing the fields
one after the other
• Read record from sequential access file by reading each
field until record complete

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Processing Records (2 of 2)
• When working with records, it is also important to be
able to:
– Add records
– Display records
– Search for a specific record
– Modify records
– Delete records

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Exceptions (1 of 4)
• Exception: error that occurs while a program is
running
– Usually causes program to abruptly halt
• Traceback: error message that gives information
regarding line numbers that caused the exception
– Indicates the type of exception and brief description
of the error that caused exception to be raised

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Exceptions (2 of 4)
• Many exceptions can be prevented by careful coding
– Example: input validation
– Usually involve a simple decision construct
• Some exceptions cannot be avoided by careful
coding
– Examples
▪ Trying to convert non-numeric string to an integer
▪ Trying to open for reading a file that doesn’t exist

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Exceptions (3 of 4)
• Exception handler: code that responds when exceptions
are raised and prevents program from crashing
– In Python, written as try/except statement
▪ General format: try:
statements
except exceptionName:
statements
▪ Try suite: statements that can potentially raise an
exception
▪ Handler: statements contained in except block

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Exceptions (4 of 4)
• If statement in try suite raises exception:
– Exception specified in except clause:
▪ Handler immediately following except clause
executes
▪ Continue program after try/except statement
– Other exceptions:
▪ Program halts with traceback error message
• If no exception is raised, handlers are skipped

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Handling Multiple Exceptions
• Often code in try suite can throw more than one type
of exception
– Need to write except clause for each type of
exception that needs to be handled
• An except clause that does not list a specific
exception will handle any exception that is raised in
the try suite
– Should always be last in a series of except clauses

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Displaying an Exception’s Default Error
Message
• Exception object: object created in memory when an
exception is thrown
– Usually contains default error message pertaining to
the exception
– Can assign the exception object to a variable in an
except clause
▪ Example: except ValueError as err:
– Can pass exception object variable to print function
to display the default error message

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The else Clause
• try/except statement may include an optional
else clause, which appears after all the except
clauses
– Aligned with try and except clauses
– Syntax similar to else clause in decision structure
– Else suite: block of statements executed after
statements in try suite, only if no exceptions were
raised
▪ If exception was raised, the else suite is skipped

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The finally Clause
• try/except statement may include an optional
finally clause, which appears after all the except
clauses
– Aligned with try and except clauses
– General format: finally:
–
statements
– Finally suite: block of statements after the finally
clause
▪ Execute whether an exception occurs or not
▪ Purpose is to perform cleanup before exiting
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What If an Exception Is Not Handled?
• Two ways for exception to go unhandled:
– No except clause specifying exception of the right
type
– Exception raised outside a try suite
• In both cases, exception will cause the program to
halt
– Python documentation provides information about
exceptions that can be raised by different functions

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Summary
• This chapter covered:
– Types of files and file access methods
– Filenames and file objects
– Writing data to a file
– Reading data from a file and determining when the
end of the file is reached
– Processing records
– Exceptions, including:
▪ Traceback messages
▪ Handling exceptions

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Copyright

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