Newbie question: Any way to improve this code?

[Duncan Smith]

"Bengt Richter" <bokr at oz.net> wrote in message
news:bqrf08$pke$0 at 216.39.172.122...
> On Sat, 6 Dec 2003 00:06:16 -0000, "Duncan Smith"
<buzzard at urubu.freeserve.co.uk> wrote:
> [...]
> >
> >Or you could replace the whole thing with,
> >
> >try:
> >    f = open("firmas.txt",'r')
> >    texto = f.read()
> >    frases = texto.split('\n')[:-1]
>
> If you split on something, you don't have to eliminate it,
> but you may split off a trailing null string, to satisfy the
> logic that you should be able to join the list with the splitter and
> get back your original. Splitlines does what you want:
>
>  >>> 'abc\ndef\n'.split('\n')
>  ['abc', 'def', '']
>  >>> 'abc\ndef\n'.splitlines()
>  ['abc', 'def']
>
>  >>> 'abc\ndef\n'.split('\n')
>  ['abc', 'def', '']
>  >>> '\n'.join('abc\ndef\n'.split('\n'))
>  'abc\ndef\n'
>
> But the result of splitlines gives you the same last line whether it ends
with \n or not,
> so you can't guarantee reconstruction:
>
>  >>> '\n'.join('abc\ndef\n'.splitlines())
>  'abc\ndef'
>
> More:
>  >>> 'abc\ndef\n'.splitlines()
>  ['abc', 'def']
>  >>> 'abc\ndef'.splitlines()
>  ['abc', 'def']
>  >>> 'abc\ndef\n\n'.splitlines()
>  ['abc', 'def', '']
>  >>> '\n'.splitlines()
>  ['']
>  >>> ''.splitlines()
>  []
>  >>> 'a'.splitlines()
>  ['a']
>
> >finally:
> >    f.close()
> >
> I think you forgot (oh, just realized the explanation for my
amazement--you're not the other Duncan ;-)
> (maybe you didn't forget) that if the open doesn't succeed in the above,
> f will not be (re)bound, so f.close() will be problematical either way.
>

[snip]

Yes, the other Duncan wouldn't have been so sloppy :-).  Off to check
whether I've done this in any of my 'real' code.  And it was the

frases = texto.split('\n')[:-1]

that I was a bit unhappy about (once I'd posted).  I feel a bit like a
certain cartoon character, doh.  Cheers Bengt.

Duncan