How to Read a .data File in Python?

In the following Python tutorial, we will learn what exactly a .data file means and how to read one.

What is a .data File?

1. The .data files were developed for the purpose of storing data.
2. This type of data is often stored in either tab-separated values or comma-separated values.
3. Furthermore, the file might be in text or binary format. If so, we'll need to figure out another method for obtaining it.

Data Identification Within .data Files

We can identify the data within the .data files in two different formats:

• Text
• Binary

The only way to determine which one the file belongs to is to load it up and test it ourselves. Let us now discuss how to read the .data file in both of these formats.

Reading Data From the .data Files as Text

• Python makes reading files very easy. In general, .data files are text files.
• Python comes with file handling built-in; therefore, importing modules is not necessary to utilize it.

After all of that, here's how you open, read, and write to a file in Python:

Steps of the Algorithm:

The stages and algorithm to complete the required task are listed below:

• First of all, we will use the open() method to open the .data file in write mode by providing it with the file name and the mode parameter 'w'. It will create a file with the supplied name (if the specified file does not exist in the directory) and opens it in writing mode.
• We will then use the write() method in order to write some random data into the file.
• After writing data into the file, we will use the close() method to shut the file.
• In order to open the .data file in read-only mode, we will make use of the open() method, and provide two arguments: the file name and mode ('r'). This function opens a file and returns a file object as a result.
• We will then use the read() function, to retrieve and return the provided number of bytes from the file. In order to read the data of the .data file, we will use the default value of -1, indicating the program to read the whole file.
• After that, we will print the content of the .data file for the users.
• Once we are done reading data from the file, we will use the close() method to close the .data file.

Example:

The program that follows demonstrates how to read data from the .data file as Text in Python:

Output:

 
The Content of the Selected .data file is as follows :
Greetings! Welcome to Javatpoint. Let's learn Python together   

Explanation:

This Python program opens a file called "jtp_python_tutorial.data" in write mode, writes a string to it, and then closes the file to show how to handle files. It then opens the identical file again in read-only mode, reads its contents, and prints them out. Ultimately, the file is closed once more. This demonstrates the fundamental Python file writing and reading procedures.

Reading Data From the .data Files as Binary

• Binary files may also be present in the .data files. This suggests that we need to modify the way we access the file.
• Read binary or rb, is the mode in which we will read from and write to the file.

After all of that, here's how to open, read, and write a file in Python:

Steps of the Algorithm:

The stages and algorithm to complete the required task are listed below:

• First of all, we will use the open() method in order to open the .data file in write-binary mode. For the parameters, we will pass the path to the .data file and specify the mode, 'wb'. In case the specified file does not exist already in the directory, the above method will create the .data file and opens it for us in write binary mode.
• While writing to a binary file, we will use the encode() function that will convert text data of the .data file into binary format. The encode() method in Python is used to return the encoded form of any given text. The code points are transformed into a string of bytes to store such strings effectively. We call this encoding. Python uses utf-8 by default for encoding.
• With the help of the write() method, we can write the encode data into the selected .data file.
• Once we are done writing the binary data into the file, we will use the close() method to close the file.
• Now again we will open the .data file, but in read-binary mode, using the open() method. This time, we will pass two parameters to this method: the path to the .data file and the mode ('rb'). This method will open the file and returns a file object as a result.
• We will then use the read() function, to retrieve and return the provided number of bytes from the file. In order to read the encoded content of the .data file, we will use the default value of -1, indicating the program to read the whole file.
• After that, we will print the content of the .data file for the users.
• Once we are done reading data from the file, we will use the close() method to close the .data file.

Example:

The Python program that follows demonstrates how to read the data from the .data file as Binary:

Output:

 
The Content of the Selected .data file is as follows :
b"Greetings! Welcome to Javatpoint. Let's learn Python together"   

Explanation:

This Python program shows how to handle files in binary mode. It starts by opening the "jtp_python_tutorial.data" file in write-binary mode, inserting encoded data, and then shutting the file. After that, it reads the contents of the same file in read-binary mode and outputs them. The encoded data appears as a bytes object with a prefix of 'b'. The file is closed at last. This program provides an example of how to handle binary data in files efficiently.

Conclusion:

This article defines a .data file and the kinds of data that may be stored in it. We study the usage of the open() and read() methods to read several kinds of .data files, including binary and text files. Additionally, we learn how to transform text to bytes using the encode() method.