[Tutor] checking if data files are good, readable, and exist

[bob gailer]

Alan Gauld wrote:
> But that isn't. Python just reads the data and interprets it
> as text if you specify a text file - the default - or as raw data
> if you use rb.

But it DOES handle line-ends in an OS independent manner. Windows uses 
CR-LF as a line end, whereas Unix, Linux, Mac use (just CR or is it LF?).

Python presents line-ends uniformly as \n when you open the file in text 
mode.

Witness: (on Windows)

 >>> f = open('c:/foo.txt', 'r')
 >>> f.read()
'this line contains as\nbut this has as\n'
 >>> f = open('c:/foo.txt', 'rb')
 >>> f.read()
'this line contains as\r\nbut this has as\r\n'

[snip]

-- 
Bob Gailer
919-636-4239 Chapel Hill, NC