How to Read a Text File into a List or Array in Python: Single Element vs. Individual Access?

Reading a Text File into a List or Array in Python

When working with Python, reading a text file into a list or array is a common task. By doing so, you can easily access individual items within the collection.

However, a common issue arises when the entire file is being read as a single list item, preventing individual element access. To address this, you need to split the file into smaller components using the split() method.

Consider the following example:

<code class="python">text_file = open("filename.dat", "r")
lines = text_file.read().split(',')
print(lines)</code>

In this code, the read() method reads the entire file into a string. The split(',') method then splits the string using the comma as a delimiter, creating a list of individual items.

However, for larger files or more complex data structures, a more idiomatic approach is recommended:

<code class="python">import csv
with open('filename.csv', 'r') as fd:
    reader = csv.reader(fd)
    for row in reader:
        # Perform operations on individual row items</code>

Using csv.reader() allows you to iterate over the file line by line as a list, providing a more efficient and convenient way to work with large text files.

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