Reference library

Files & data

Read and write files safely; parse JSON, CSV, and common text formats.

7 matches
Files & data easy

Audit File Permissions Across a Project in Python

Walks through every file and directory in a project tree and prints POSIX permissions plus owner UID.

file permissions os.walk audit
Python
import os
import stat
from pathlib import Path

def audit_file_permissions(project_root):
    """Walk through project_root and print path, owner, and permissions for every file."""
    results = []
    for root, dirs, files in os.walk(project_root):
        for name in files + dirs:
            full_path = os.path.joi…
56 0 Open
Files & data easy

How to Compare Directory Trees in Python

This code recursively scans two directory trees and reports files that exist in only one directory, as well as files present in both but with different content.

filesystem comparison pathlib
Python
from pathlib import Path

def compare_directories(path1, path2):
    dir1 = Path(path1)
    dir2 = Path(path2)

    if not dir1.is_dir() or not dir2.is_dir():
        raise ValueError("Both paths must be directories.")

    files1 = {p.relative_to(dir1) for p in dir1.rglob("*") if p.is_file()}
    files2 = {p.relative…
11 0 Open
Files & data easy

How to Find Files by Extension in Python

This code walks a directory tree with pathlib, collects all file paths, and counts them by extension to summarize a project's contents.

pathlib file-system recursion
Python
from pathlib import Path

def get_project_files(base_path="."):
    """Return a sorted list of all file paths under base_path."""
    base = Path(base_path)
    files = [p for p in base.rglob("*") if p.is_file()]
    return sorted(files)

def count_by_extension(files):
    """Return a dict mapping extension (lowercase…
12 0 Open
Files & data easy

How to Parse XML Attributes into a Flat Dictionary in Python

Parses XML elements and attributes using ElementTree, building a flat dictionary keyed by element attributes.

xml elementtree parsing
Python
import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET

xml_data = """<root>
    <book id="1" category="fiction" price="9.99">
        <title>The Catcher</title>
    </book>
    <book id="2" category="nonfiction" price="12.50">
        <title>Deep Learning</title>
    </book>
</root>"""

def parse_xml_attributes(xml_string):
    root = E…
14 0 Open
Files & data easy

How to Walk a Directory Tree with os.walk in Python

A generator function that recursively walks a directory tree and yields every file path found using the os.walk generator.

os.walk generators directory-tree
Python
import os


def walk_directory_tree(root_path: str):
    """Walk a directory tree and yield file paths using os.walk generator."""
    for dirpath, dirnames, filenames in os.walk(root_path):
        for filename in filenames:
            yield os.path.join(dirpath, filename)


if __name__ == "__main__":
    # Create a…
12 0 Open
Files & data easy

How to Write Simple XML Documents with ElementTree in Python

Create well-structured XML documents in memory using Python's built-in ElementTree module, complete with nested elements, attributes, and text content.

xml elementtree serialization
Python
import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET

def create_xml_document():
    # Create root element
    root = ET.Element("catalog")
    
    # Create a book element with attributes and children
    book1 = ET.SubElement(root, "book", id="bk101")
    ET.SubElement(book1, "author").text = "Gambardella, Matthew"
    ET.SubElement(…
13 0 Open
Files & data easy

Read an XML File with xml.etree.ElementTree in Python

Parse an XML file and print its root and child elements using the standard library's xml.etree.ElementTree module.

xml elementtree file-io
Python
import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET


def read_xml_file(file_path):
    """Read an XML file and print its structure."""
    tree = ET.parse(file_path)
    root = tree.getroot()
    print(f"Root element: {root.tag}")
    for child in root:
        print(f"Child element: {child.tag}, text: {child.text}")


if __name__ ==…
12 0 Open

Browse by section

Each section groups closely related Python snippets.

Files & data — Python code examples

What you will find here

This page collects files & data snippets — short, copy-ready Python you can paste into our free online IDE and run without installing anything. Each sample includes a plain-English explanation and the full source code.

Samples vs tutorials and challenges

Samples are quick reference — one concept per page. For step-by-step teaching, use our Python tutorials. To test yourself, try quizzes or coding challenges. Clean up style with the Python formatter.