How Can I Efficiently Read Binary Files Byte by Byte in Python?

Easily Reading Binary Files Byte by Byte in Python

When handling binary files in Python, accessing each byte is often crucial. This article provides a comprehensive guide to help you accomplish this task efficiently.

Python Versions >= 3.8

The introduction of the walrus operator (:=) has simplified this process. Simply open the file in binary mode ("rb") and read bytes objects one at a time, assigning them to the variable byte.

with open("myfile", "rb") as f:
    while (byte := f.read(1)):
        # Perform operations on the byte

Python Versions >= 3 But < 3.8

In these versions, you can use a slightly longer approach:

with open("myfile", "rb") as f:
    byte = f.read(1)
    while byte != b"":
        # Perform operations on the byte
        byte = f.read(1)

Alternatively, you can take advantage of the fact that b"" evaluates to falsehood:

with open("myfile", "rb") as f:
    byte = f.read(1)
    while byte:
        # Perform operations on the byte
        byte = f.read(1)

Python Versions >= 2.5

Python 2 reads binary files differently:

with open("myfile", "rb") as f:
    byte = f.read(1)
    while byte != "":
        # Perform operations on the byte
        byte = f.read(1)

Python Versions 2.4 and Earlier

For older versions, you'll need a try/finally block:

f = open("myfile", "rb")
try:
    byte = f.read(1)
    while byte != "":
        # Perform operations on the byte
        byte = f.read(1)
finally:
    f.close()

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