Question

I have a file containing python’s object as string, then i open it and doing things like i showing:

>>> file = open('gods.txt')
>>> file.readlines()
["{'brahman': 'impersonal', 'wishnu': 'personal, immortal', 'brahma': 'personal, mortal'}\n"]

But then i have problem because there is no longer any lines:

>>> f.readlines()
[]
>>> f.readline(0)
''

Why it is heppening and how can i stay with access to file’s lines?

Answer 1

Your position in the file has moved

f = open("/home/usr/stuff", "r")
f.tell()
# shows you're at the start of the file
l = f.readlines()
f.tell()
# now shows your file position is at the end of the file

readlines() gives you a list of contents of the file, and you can read that list over and over. It’s good practice to close the file after reading it, and then use the contents you’ve got from the file. Don’t keep trying to read the file contents over and over, you’ve already got it.