Files
- Define files
- Text Files
- Binary Files
- Directories
- File Paths
- File Referencing
Define files
- Resource for storing data
- Stored as a one-dimensional array byte format (giant string)
- most data is generated externally
- allows easy exchange of data
Types of files: Text files and Binary files
Text Files
- human readable
- consists mainly of alphanumeric characters
- Unicode enables non-English characters
Binary Files
- has specific formats and usually, we can just download specialized modules to deal with them.
- Application readable data (usually not human readable, ther are non-visible characters)
- no limited to cisible characters
- can contain pictures, sound, encrypted data, executable code, etc..
Directories
- containers of files
- also known as folders
- organized in a hierarchy
- location of program started is the current working directory (this is the directory from which a python program is started.)
File Paths
- location of a file in a file system
- String if directories and the filename
- Directories are indicated nby trailing forward slash (/)
- a single forward slash (/) refers to the top-level directory
File Referencing
- can be specified in three ways:
- filename only
- absolute path format
-
relative path format
- filename only:
- Reference just the filename itself
- assumes file is in the current working directory
- absolute path format:
- Complete pathname and the filename
- Slash character (/) is the directory separator
- might not work on another system
- relative path format
- partial pathname and the filename
- Current working directory part can be omitted