Difference between a and a+ in open()
The ‘r’ is for reading only, while ‘r+’ allows both reading and writing. It’s essential to be cautious when using ‘r+’ to avoid accidentally overwriting or appending data to the wrong part of the file.
Append Mode in Python with ‘a’
In ‘a’ mode, the file is opened for writing, positioned at the end if it exists, creates a new empty file if not, appends data without altering existing content, and disallows reading.
Python3
with open('example.txt', 'a') as file: file.write('Appended text\n') |
Output:
Append and Read Mode in Python with ‘a+’
The ‘a+’ mode opens the file for both reading and writing, positioning the file pointer at the end for writing in existing files and creating a new, empty file if it doesn’t exist.
Python3
with open('example.txt', 'a+') as file: file.write('Appended text\n') file.seek(0) # Move the pointer to the beginning content = file.read() print(content) |
Output:
Difference between modes a, a+, w, w+, and r+ in built-in open function?
Understanding the file modes in Python’s open() function is essential for working with files effectively. Depending on your needs, you can choose between ‘a’, ‘a+’, ‘w’, ‘w+’, and ‘r+’ modes to read, write, or append data to files while handling files. In this article, we’ll explore these modes and their use cases.