Read a File and Strip New Lines in Python

by | Dec 21, 2023 | How-To/Tips

The term strip new lines refers to the elimination of newline characters in the content of the file. In real-world scenarios, there arises a need to discard the lines and combine the data. This creates simplicity in the file and makes the processing of the file an easier task. Therefore, multiple methods are available that eliminate the newline characters in a Python file.

In this write-up, we will read a file in Python and strip off new lines.

How to Read a File and Strip New Lines in Python?

To read a file and strip new lines in Python, the first step involves declaring the path where the file is located. In the next step, the files are opened and the contents of the file are read using the read() method. After the content is read, the new lines in the file are stripped off using five different methods. These methods are listed below:

  • replace() function
  • List Comprehension 
  • splitlines function
  • strip() function
  • split() function

Method 1: Using replace() Function

The replace() function in Python replaces all the previous strings with the new ones. Below is the code implementation of the replace() function.

# Declaring the path of the file
file_path = r"C:\Python 1\file1.txt"
# The data in the file is read and stored
inputs = open(file_path, 'r').read()
# The data printed in the separated lines is replaced
inputs = inputs.replace('\n',"+")
#Print the contents
print(inputs)

In the above code block:

  • The path of the file is specified.
  • The file is opened using the open() and read() functions.
  • The replace() method replaces the strings printed in a separate line with the “+” symbol.
  • The output is printed using the print() function in a single line.

Output

This output is without the replace() method of Python

This is the output when the replace() method is applied to the contents of the file.

Method 2: Using List Comprehension 

The list comprehension implements a for loop that iterates over each element in a List. The rstrip() method with a List comprehension to strip a Python file is implemented below.

# Declaring the path of the file
file_path = r"C:\Python 1\file1.txt"
with open(file_path) as inputfile:
    #Using List comprehension
output = " ".join(line.rstrip() for line in inputfile)
print(output)

In the above Python code, the line.rstripe() method of Python is implemented which returns the strings with the removed characters. The output is printed using the print() function of Python.

Output

In the output below all the strings are printed on a single line.

Method 3: splitlines() Function

The splitlines() function works in such a way that it splits the string from the line break. It iterates over each element similar to that in the list and concatenates the line where the break occurs. Below is the code implementation of the splitlines function in Python.

# Declaring the path of the file
file_path = r"C:\Python 1\file1.txt"
inputs= open(file_path, 'r').read()
#split on the basis of separate lines.
inputs= inputs.splitlines()
# Join all the strings
inputs = "".join(inputs)
# Display the output
print(inputs)

In the above code of Python, the splitlines() function is implemented that combines the lines in a single line from where the line break occurs.

Output

The output below shows the string printed sequentially using the splitlines() function.

Method 4: Using strip() Function

The strip() function, is a built-in function that removes the spaces and returns the original string. Below is the code implementation of the strip() function in Python.

# Declaring the path of the file
file_path = r"C:\Python 1\file1.txt"
#The lines in the file are read
content = open(file_path, 'r').readlines()
# for loop to iterate over every element
for i in content:
    #the strip function to delete the spaces between the lines
print(i.strip('\n'), end="")

In the above Python code:

  • The lines in the file are read by the readlines() method.
  • The for loop iterates over each element present in the file.
  • The strip() function removes the space and prints the content in the file together.

Output

The output below shows that the entire data on the file is displayed in a single line.

Method 5: Using split() Function

The split() function breaks the string on the basis of the declared argument. It returns a new list where the specified argument is not present. Below is the code implementation of the split() function in Python.

# Declaring the path of the file
file_path = r"C:\Python 1\file1.txt"
content=open(file_path, 'r').read()
#split() function
content = content.split("\n")
#join all the strings in the list
content= "".join(content)
# Display the output
print(content)

The split() function in the above code block creates new lines based on the occurrence of the new line character(\n). The join()method joins all the elements in the file and prints the result.

Output

Conclusion

To read a file and strip new lines in Python,  the initial step involves declaring the file path and searching for the new line characters to be stripped off. The data in the files appears without any new lines by using the replace() function, List Comprehension, splitlines function, strip() function, and split() function. In this write-up, we have implemented these methods to read a file and strip new lines in Python.