Python open() Function

Python open() is “used to open the file (if possible) and returns the corresponding file object.” If a file is not found, then it raises the FileNotFoundError exception.

Syntax

open(file, mode)

Parameters

Parameter Description
file The path and name of a file.
mode The sting, define which mode you want to open the file in:

“r” – Read – Default value. It opens the file for reading and err if it does not exist.

“a” – Append – Opens the file for appending and creates the file if it does not exist.

“w” – Write – Opens the file for writing and creates a file if it does not exist.

“x” – Create – Creates a specified file and returns an error if the file exists.

Also, you determine if a file should be handled in binary or text mode.

“t” – Text – Default value. Text mode.

“b” – Binary – Binary mode (e,.g. images).

Return value

The open() function returns a file object which can be used to read, write, and modify the file.

Example 1: How to Use open() function

To open a file in Python, use the open() function. The open() function accepts files and various modes that can help you while opening a file.

f = open("app.txt")
print(f)

Output

<_io.TextIOWrapper name='app.txt' mode='r' encoding='UTF-8'> 

Since the mode is omitted, the file is opened in ‘r’ mode; it opens for reading.

Example 2: Passing the “r” mode

Let’s pass the ‘r’ mode as a parameter and see the output.

f = open("app.txt", 'r')

print(f)

It will give us the same output as above.

Python has a platform-dependent encoding system. Hence, specifying an encoding type is recommended if working in text mode.

f = open("path_to_file", mode = 'r', encoding='utf-8')

Example 3: Passing the “w” mode

Let’s pass the ‘w’ mode. The ‘w‘ stands for writing mode.

f = open("app.txt", 'w')

print(f)

Output

<_io.TextIOWrapper name='app.txt' mode='w' encoding='UTF-8'> 

Example 4: Passing the “a” mode

Let’s pass the ‘a’ mode. The ‘a’ stands for append mode.

f = open("app.txt", 'a')

print(f)

Output

<_io.TextIOWrapper name='app.txt' mode='a' encoding='UTF-8'> 

That’s it.

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