Python utilities

Python comes with several utilities that enables interacting with other files and the operating system itself. We have identified all those Python utilities that we have used in our past projects. Let's discuss the different modules and their uses as we might use them in the final project of this book.

The os module

As the name suggests, this module (https://docs.python.org/3.1/library/os.html) enables interacting with the operating system. Let's discuss some of its applications with examples.

Checking a file's existence

The os module could be used to check if a file exists in a specific directory. For example: We extensively made use of the write_file.txt file. Before opening this file to read or write, we could check the file's existence:

import os
if __name__ == "__main__":
    # Check if file exists
    if os.path.isfile('/home/pi/Desktop/code_samples/write_file.txt'):
        print('The file exists!')
    else:
        print('The file does not exist!')

In the preceding code...