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How to check if a file is empty in Python

How to check if a file is empty in Python.

Here's a step-by-step tutorial on how to check if a file is empty in Python:

Step 1: Import the necessary modules​

First, you need to import the os module. This module provides a way to interact with the operating system and allows you to perform file-related operations.

import os

Step 2: Get the file path​

Next, you need to specify the path to the file you want to check. You can either provide the absolute path or the relative path to the file.

file_path = "path/to/your/file.txt"

Step 3: Check if the file is empty​

To check if the file is empty, you can use the os.path.getsize() function, which returns the size of the file in bytes. An empty file has a size of 0 bytes.

file_size = os.path.getsize(file_path)

if file_size == 0:
    print("The file is empty.")
else:
    print("The file is not empty.")

Step 4: Close the file (if opened)​

If you have opened the file using the open() function, make sure to close it after performing the necessary operations. This step is important to release system resources.

file = open(file_path, "r")
# Perform file operations here
file.close()

Step 5: Handling exceptions​

When working with files, it's always a good practice to handle exceptions. For example, if the file doesn't exist or if there are permission issues, an exception will be raised. You can use a try-except block to handle these exceptions gracefully.

try:
    file_size = os.path.getsize(file_path)

    if file_size == 0:
        print("The file is empty.")
    else:
        print("The file is not empty.")
except FileNotFoundError:
    print("File not found!")
except PermissionError:
    print("Permission denied!")

That's it! You now know how to check if a file is empty in Python. Remember to replace "path/to/your/file.txt" with the actual path to your file.