File Management in Python - Creating In-memory Files (Page 5 of 5 )
A number of modules you will encounter contain methods that require a file object as an argument. Sometimes, it is inconvenient to create and use a real file, however. Thankfully, you can create files that store themselves in a computer's memory using the "StringIO" module:
import StringIO
fileHandle = StringIO.StringIO ( "Let freedom ring." )
print fileHandle.read() # "Let freedom ring."
fileHandle.close()
A "cStringIO" module is also availible. It is identical to the "StringIO" module in use, but, just like the "cPickle" module is to the "pickle" module, it is faster:
import cStringIO
fileHandle = cStringIO.cStringIO ( "To Kill a Mockingbird" )
print fileHandle.read() # "To Kill a Mockingbid"
fileHandle.close()
Conclusion
File management is a task that programmers of many languages will often encounter in their applications. Thankfully, Python makes the task incredibly easy compared to other languages. It offers many modules in its standard library that aid programmers, and its object orientation further simplifies things.
You now have a basic understanding of file management in Python, and you will use it in many future applications.
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