Reading Text Files in Python

Python programs do not have to keep all their text inside the code. This Block shows you how to open an existing local text file, read its complete contents with read(), and store that text in a regular Python string. You will use with open(...) as the default pattern, so Python closes the file automatically when the indented block ends.

What you will learn:

• Understand the difference between opening a file and reading its contents
• Open a text file in read mode with open() and UTF-8 encoding
• Read the whole file into a string with read()
• Use with open(...) to close files automatically
• Process file text with familiar tools such as strip(), lower(), split(), and len()
• Recognize common problems involving file paths, missing parentheses, and closed files

By the end, you will have a simple, reusable pattern for reading small text files safely and turning their contents into data your Python code can work with.