CODEWITHSUNDEEP
pythonpython-3.xfiledictionary
new2programming
new2programming

Reputation: 11

How may I write a dictionary to a text file line by line format, replacing original text

I am new to programming. I currently have the dictionary as follows and I would like to write it to a text file(separated by lines) to replace the original content in my text file. I have changed a few values and added in new keys, and was wondering how to go about doing it.

Below is the dictionary I would like to replace the original text file with:

cars={'Honda\n':['10/11/2020\n','red\n','firm and sturdy\n'
'breaks down occasionally\n'],'Toyota\n':['20/12/2005\n','indigo\n'
'big and spacious\n', 'fuel saving\n'],'Maserati\n':['10/10/2009\n','silver\n','fast and furious\n','expensive to maintain\n'],'Hyundai\n':['20/10/2000\n','gold\n','solid and reliable\n','slow acceleration\n']

Original file:

Honda
10/11/2010
blue
strong and sturdy
breaks down occasionally

Toyota
20/15/2005
indigo
big and spacious

Maserati
10/10/2009
silver
fast and furious
expensive to maintain
accident prone

Desired file:

Honda
10/11/2020
red
firm and sturdy
breaks down occasionally

Toyota
20/12/2005
indigo
big and spacious
fuel-saving

Maserati
10/10/2009
silver
fast and furious
expensive to maintain

Hyundai
20/10/2000
gold
solid and reliable
slow acceleration

Here is what I have done:

with open('cars.txt', 'w') as f:
f.write(str(cars))
f.close()

But it only prints the dictionary instead of the desired file. Can I know how to go about it?

Upvotes: 0

Views: 110

Answers (5)

CircuitSacul
CircuitSacul

Reputation: 1830

There are multiple problems here:

  • The error means what it says -- you can't write a dict to a file.
    • To solve this, simply convert the dict to a str, like this: dict_as_str = str(dict), then f.write(dict_as_str)
  • Once you fix that, look at what you have: You will probably not see what you want. This is because f.write converts it the same way print would, so if you run print(dict_as_str), it would basically look like a dict.
    • To solve this, you have to do more than one line of code. I'm not going to give you code, you need to try and figure it out yourself. If you try, and can't get it to work, then you can post another question.

Upvotes: 0

user13824946
user13824946

Reputation:

Based on your debug error, you should only convert your dict into str like this

with open('cars.txt', 'w') as f:      
f.write(str(cars)) 
f.close()

Upvotes: 0

deadshot
deadshot

Reputation: 9061

First split the original file data using the delimiter '\n\n'. Then use the dictionary access the new data. then write the result to new file.

with open('cars.txt') as fp, open('new_cars.txt', 'w') as fw:
    for car in fp.read().split('\n\n'):
        car_name = car.split('\n', 1)[0] + '\n'
        fw.write(car_name + ''.join(cars[car_name]) + '\n')

Upvotes: 0

Rfroes87
Rfroes87

Reputation: 678

In your write statement, you could simply do this:

f.write('\n'.join(car + ''.join(cars[car]) for car in cars))

Upvotes: 0

Rashid 'Lee' Ibrahim
Rashid 'Lee' Ibrahim

Reputation: 1392

You can't just dump the dictionary because as far as the write method is concerned you are trying to dump the memory location.

You need to go through each dictionary key and item like so. You also don't need to close the file because when you leave the with open loop it will close on it's own.

with open('cars.txt', 'w') as f:
    for car, vals in cars.items:
        f.write(car)
        for val in values:
            f.write(val)

Note: I have not tested any of this.

Upvotes: 1

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