binutils "strings" like functionality?

[cjl]

Hey all:

I am working on a little script that needs to pull the strings out of a
binary file, and then manipulate them with python.

The command line utility "strings" (part of binutils) has exactly the
functionality I need, but I was thinking about trying to implement this
in pure python.

I did some reading on opening and reading binary files, etc., and was
just wondering if people think this is possible, or worth my time (as a
learning exercise), or if something like this already exists.

-cjl