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Python

GIFT AKARIS
GIFT AKARIS
4,383 Points
Posted by GIFT AKARIS
GIFT AKARIS
4,383 Points

how do I read from multiple files and write to another file.

how do I read from multiple files and write to another file. say

read abc.txt, dfg.txt , ztm.csv and write to klm.txt ?

2 Answers

Jeff Muday
MOD
Jeff Muday
Treehouse Moderator 28,717 Points
Jeff Muday
Jeff Muday
Treehouse Moderator 28,717 Points

How to read from files abc.txt, dfg.txt , ztm.csv and write to klm.txt ?

This is easy as long as you aren't too picky about the output format and the files aren't huge.

# here is a simple minded way to do this.
# read in file1 to data1
read_file1 = open("abc.txt",'r')
data1 = read_file1.read()
read_file1.close()

# read in file2 to data2
read_file2 = open("dfg.txt",'r')
data2 = read_file2.read()
read_file2.close()

# read in file3 to data3
read_file3 = open("ztm.csv",'r')
data3 = read_file3.read()
read_file3.close()

# write operations. make sure we use a newline to keep the data separated
write_file = open('klm.txt','w')
write_file.write(data1 + '\n')
write_file.write(data2 + '\n')
write_file.write(data3 + '\n')
write_file.close()

Here we can get slightly fancier with a list of files to concatenate to the write_file_name. Also note the 'with' statement which is the preferred way to write files since each file is automatically closed once it goes out of scope.

read_file_names = ["abc.txt", "dfg.txt", "ztm.csv"]
write_file_name = 'klm.txt'

for filename in read_file_names:
    with open(filename, 'r') as this_file:
        # read the entire file into a data buffer
        data = this_file.read()

    with open(write_file_name, 'a') as that_file:
        # append the data buffer to that_file
        that_file.write(data + '\n')
GIFT AKARIS
GIFT AKARIS
4,383 Points
GIFT AKARIS
GIFT AKARIS
4,383 Points

Thanks Jeff,

The second option is exactly what I was after.

1,Loop through the files
2,Read the files at same time
3,Filter matches based on condition 
4,Create a new file
5, Insert into(4) data from (3)
Ian Bonyun
Ian Bonyun
4,645 Points
Ian Bonyun
Ian Bonyun
4,645 Points

It's actually very simple: You open each file with the built-in open function and assign it to a variable. Yup, that simple.

# open all the files
abc_file = open('abc.txt', 'r')
dfg_file = open('dfg.txt', 'r')
ztm_file = open('ztm.csv', 'r')
klm_file = open('klm.txt', 'w')

# do stuff
...

# close all the files
abc_file.close()
def_file.close()
ztm_file.close()
klm.file.close()

Files you want to write to get 'w' as the 2nd argument. Files you want to read from get 'r' as the 2nd argument. Reading is the default so the 'r' can actually be omitted.

Make sure you remember to close all of the files once you're finished with them.

You can also do this with nested with statements.

with open('abc.txt', 'r') as abc_file:
    with open('dfg.txt', 'r') as dfg_file:
        ...  # etc

The with statements mean they will automatically close when you leave that block. No need to remember to close them yourself. Keep in mind the files will be closed in the reverse order that they're opened.

GIFT AKARIS
GIFT AKARIS
4,383 Points
GIFT AKARIS
GIFT AKARIS
4,383 Points

Hi Ian,

Thank you for your help