file handling

[Cameron Simpson]

On 14Jun2010 11:05, madhuri vio <madhuri.vio at gmail.com> wrote:
| i have a doubt about ...this..can u look into this..
| 
| a = open("human.odt","r")
| b = a.readlines()
| print b
| 
| and i get d output something else...
| 
| python monday.py
| ["PK\x03\x04\x14\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\xd6+\xce<^\xc62\x0c'\x00\x00\x00'\x00\x00\x00\x08\x00\x00\x00mimetypeapplication/vnd.oasis.opendocument.textPK\x03\x04\x14\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\xd6+\xce<\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x1a\x00\x00\x00Configurations2/statusbar/PK\x03\x04\x14\x00\x08\x00\x08\x00\xd6+\xce<\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00'\x00\x00\x00Configurations2/accelerator/current.xml\x03\x00PK\x07\x08\x00\x00\x00\x00\x02\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00PK\x03\x04\x14\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\xd6+\xce<\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x18\x00\x00\x00Configurations2/floater/PK\x03\x04\x14\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\xd6+\xce<\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x1a\x00\x00\x00Configurations2/popupmenu/PK\x03\x04\x14\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\xd6+\xce<\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x1c\x00\x00\x00Configurations2/progressbar/PK\x03\x04\x14\x00\x00\x00\x00\
| 
| something of this sort...i have asked this doubt earlier..noe i am unable to
| proceed...

ODT files are _not_ text files. If I recall they are ZIP files containing
XML, but I've never checked. There is more info here:
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenDocument

readlines is for text files. You have opened the file for "r" (but not
in "binary" mode - see the "b" letter in the python "open"
documentation) and read the input, which has been broken into chunks
based on newline bytes in the file. It is not a meaningful thing to do
to an ODT file.

You might try searching for "processing open document format with python"
or something like that.

You haven't, btw, said what you hoped to achieve above. I'm presuming
you're after the "text" content of the ODT document.

Cheers,
-- 
Cameron Simpson <cs at zip.com.au> DoD#743
http://www.cskk.ezoshosting.com/cs/

Any technology that is distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
- Colin Druitt <colind at ram.net.au>