How to Read a File Line by Line

Reading a file line by line is a common task in programming. It allows you to process data in a structured way, making it easier to analyze and manipulate. This article will guide you through the process of reading files line by line in various programming languages.

Python

Using `readlines()`

The `readlines()` method reads all the lines of a file into a list. Each element in the list represents a single line from the file.


with open('file.txt', 'r') as file:
    lines = file.readlines()
    for line in lines:
        print(line.strip())

Line 1
Line 2
Line 3

Using `readline()`

The `readline()` method reads a single line from the file at a time. It’s useful when you need to process the file line by line, but don’t need to store the entire file in memory.


with open('file.txt', 'r') as file:
    line = file.readline()
    while line:
        print(line.strip())
        line = file.readline()

Line 1
Line 2
Line 3

JavaScript

Using `FileReader`

In JavaScript, you can use the `FileReader` API to read files. This API allows you to read the file contents asynchronously and process them line by line.


const fileInput = document.getElementById('fileInput');

fileInput.addEventListener('change', (event) => {
  const file = event.target.files[0];
  const reader = new FileReader();

  reader.onload = (event) => {
    const lines = event.target.result.split('\n');
    lines.forEach(line => {
      console.log(line);
    });
  };

  reader.readAsText(file);
});

Java

Using `BufferedReader`

Java’s `BufferedReader` class provides methods for efficient reading of text files.


import java.io.BufferedReader;
import java.io.FileReader;
import java.io.IOException;

public class ReadFile {

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        try (BufferedReader reader = new BufferedReader(new FileReader("file.txt"))) {
            String line;
            while ((line = reader.readLine()) != null) {
                System.out.println(line);
            }
        } catch (IOException e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
        }
    }
}

Line 1
Line 2
Line 3

C++

Using `ifstream`

The `ifstream` class in C++ is used for reading data from files. You can use it to read files line by line.


#include 
#include 
#include 

using namespace std;

int main() {
    ifstream file("file.txt");
    string line;
    while (getline(file, line)) {
        cout << line << endl;
    }
    file.close();
    return 0;
}

Line 1
Line 2
Line 3

Comparison

Language Method Description
Python `readlines()` Reads all lines into a list.
Python `readline()` Reads one line at a time.
JavaScript `FileReader` Reads file content asynchronously.
Java `BufferedReader` Provides methods for efficient reading of text files.
C++ `ifstream` Reads data from files using `getline()`.

This article provided an overview of reading files line by line in various programming languages. The specific implementation might differ slightly, but the core concept remains the same: open the file, read it line by line, and process the data as needed.

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