Python File Object

Question

I am passing a file object as an argument to a function in Python. Inside this function I want to read the content of the file passed as an argument.

Will I be able to read the file from the beginning or will it continue from the last line read before passing it to the current function ?

from the next line... – inspectorG4dget Jun 26 '15 at 18:58 — inspectorG4dget, Jun 26 '15 at 18:58
It is easy to test... – Benoit Lacherez Jun 26 '15 at 19:04 — Benoit Lacherez, Jun 26 '15 at 19:04

score 6 · Answer 1 · answered Jun 26 '15 at 18:59

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This is something you could easily find out yourself by testing. The filehandle remembers it's current line so it will continue reading where it left of.

answered Jun 26 '15 at 18:59

Lawrence Benson

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I wish I could upvote this answer twice or more - why do people waiste everyone's time asking questions they could answer by themselves in less time than they spent posting the question, I really wonder... – bruno desthuilliers Jun 26 '15 at 19:01

Malik Brahimi · Answer 2 · 2015-06-26T19:04:48.160

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File objects are generators, so they will continue from the next line.

edited Jun 26 '15 at 19:04

answered Jun 26 '15 at 19:00

Malik Brahimi

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"Hence why you can't use them once read or readlines has been called" : you may want to read about `file.seek(0)`. – bruno desthuilliers Jun 26 '15 at 19:02
"they will continue from the next line. " : unless you call `.seek(0)` which will reset the pointer at the beginning of the file – bruno desthuilliers Jun 26 '15 at 19:07
"it will continue where it left off" _unless_ you reset the file pointer using `file.seek()` – bruno desthuilliers Jun 26 '15 at 19:12

score 0 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 12:14

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I haven't coded in python much, but I would assume that the parameter you passed in is actually a reference to the object, which means that it should read from the next line. See this post for clarification.

edited May 23 '17 at 12:14

Community

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answered Jun 26 '15 at 19:01

Speerian

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score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Jun 26 '15 at 19:12

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You might find https://docs.python.org/2/tutorial/inputoutput.html#methods-of-file-objects helpful. The file object keeps track of where it is.

answered Jun 26 '15 at 19:12

AccursedWalrus

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Python File Object

4 Answers4