[Tutor] Saving and loading data to/from files

[Michael P. Reilly]

Daryl G wrote
> The %s doesn't quite work right. If a name is shorter than another, then the 
> positions wont be right in my simple table. I guess I have to see if that 
> center() method will work for me.

You need to put the width/length specifies in (just like with C).

> example
> LastName        FirstName       Phone#
> Stephanopolis   George          900-856-2992
> Jo   Mary          800-328-6387
> is what I end up getting.

For this, the formatting string would be:
fmt = '''%(L_Name)-15.15s %(F_Name)-15.15s %(PH_num)s'''

Last name ("(L_Name)"), left justified ("-"), 15 characters wide (max
and min, "15.15") string ("s"); same for first name; the phone number
is an unrestricted string.

> Computer Spreadsheet Vomitus. I love that. :)

Actually, CSV means "comma-separated values" and it is more complicated
than just splitting on a comma: if the data has a comma, then the value
is quoted with double-quotes, but what if the value has a double-quote?
It is also only a textual format, not a data retrieval system; it is
one means used to transfer data between database systems.  Usually the
first line is the field names.  If you're interested, look for "ASV"
in the Vaults of Parnassus <URL: http://www.vex.net/parnassus/>.

  -Arcege

-- 
+----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| Michael P. Reilly                | arcege@speakeasy.net              |