How to read lines from end of a file?

[Alexander Williams]

Two things, really:

>    maxLen:: max number of bytes to read

This can be really, really problematic, especially if you don't know a
good value for it.  Luckily, you trap for whether or not it is longer
than the whole file below, but unless you have a good idea how long
individual lines might be, it can be hard to ballpark a good number.

>        # Dump the first line
>        # It might be chopped off
>    lines=fp.readlines()[1:]

So might the last line, especially if you catch it in the midst of a
non-atomic line write (say its constructed piecemeal then a CR
added).  Somewhat rarer, but not impossible.  Testing to see if the
last Char is a CR might be in order.


-- 
Alexander Williams (thantos at gw.total-web.net)           | In the End,
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  Nobilis, a new Kind of RPG                            | Always
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