On Fri, Aug 14, 2015 at 10:39 PM, Steven D'Aprano <st...@pearwood.info> wrote: > > On Fri, Aug 14, 2015 at 06:28:09PM -0700, Clayton Kirkwood wrote:
> > what is the best way to find out if a file exists? > > Try to open it and see what happens. If the open() succeeds, then the > file exists and can be read. If it fails, then either the file doesn't > exist, or it can't be read. Inspect the error to find out which. > > There is also os.path.exists(filename), but you should avoid using that > if possible. The problem is this: > > if os.path.exists(filename): > # file exists *right now* > # but a millisecond later, some other program deletes it... > # and now it doesn't exist any more > with open(filename) as f: # gives an error > ... I understand your points, but wonder then what is the intended use for os.path.exists()? That is, in what types of circumstances would it be both appropriate and safe to use? boB _______________________________________________ Tutor maillist - Tutor@python.org To unsubscribe or change subscription options: https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/tutor
