File Utilities

🧰 Python File Utilities: Your Digital Moving Crew

Imagine you have a team of magical helpers who can copy things, create secret hiding spots, find treasures, and wrap presents beautifully. That’s exactly what Python’s file utilities do for your data!

🎯 The Big Picture

Think of your computer like a giant toy box. Sometimes you need to:

• Copy your favorite toy to share with a friend → shutil
• Create a secret spot to play that disappears when you’re done → tempfile
• Find all toys that match a pattern (like “all red cars”) → glob
• Wrap your message nicely so it fits in a card → textwrap

Let’s meet each helper!

📦 The shutil Module: Your Moving Truck

shutil = “shell utilities” = your personal moving crew

What Can It Do?

Think of shutil as a moving truck with helpful workers. It can:

• Copy files (like photocopying a drawing)
• Copy whole folders (like moving an entire toy box)
• Move things around (like reorganizing your room)
• Delete folders (cleaning up after a party)

Copy a Single File

import shutil

# Copy a file (like making a photocopy)
shutil.copy('my_photo.jpg', 'backup/')

# Copy with ALL details (timestamps too)
shutil.copy2('my_photo.jpg', 'backup/')

Real-life: Like photocopying your homework. copy2 is the fancy copier that keeps the “made on” date!

Copy an Entire Folder

import shutil

# Copy a whole folder and everything inside
shutil.copytree('my_games/', 'backup_games/')

Real-life: Like picking up your entire toy box and making an exact duplicate!

Move Files or Folders

import shutil

# Move a file to a new home
shutil.move('old_folder/doc.txt', 'new_folder/')

# Rename by moving to same place
shutil.move('old_name.txt', 'new_name.txt')

Real-life: Like physically carrying your toys from bedroom to playroom.

Delete a Folder (Be Careful!)

import shutil

# Delete folder AND everything inside
shutil.rmtree('unwanted_folder/')

⚠️ Warning: This is like throwing away a whole box of toys—no recycling bin, gone forever!

Quick Reference: shutil Functions

🕳️ Temporary Files: Secret Hideouts

tempfile = Your secret clubhouse that disappears when you leave

Why Do We Need Them?

Sometimes you need a scratch paper:

• Download something, use it, throw it away
• Store data while working, then it vanishes
• Keep secrets that self-destruct

Create a Temporary File

import tempfile

# Create a temp file (auto-deletes later)
with tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile(
    mode='w', delete=False
) as tmp:
    tmp.write("Secret message!")
    print(f"Saved at: {tmp.name}")

Real-life: Like writing on a magic notepad that erases itself!

Create a Temporary Folder

import tempfile

# Create a temp folder
with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as tmpdir:
    print(f"Playing in: {tmpdir}")
    # Do stuff here...
# Folder is GONE when you exit!

Real-life: Like building a sandcastle that the waves wash away when you’re done playing.

Get the Temp Folder Location

import tempfile

# Where do temp files live?
print(tempfile.gettempdir())
# Windows: C:\Users\You\AppData\Local\Temp
# Mac/Linux: /tmp

Temp File Options

import tempfile

# Custom temp file
with tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile(
    suffix='.txt',      # Ends with .txt
    prefix='myapp_',    # Starts with myapp_
    dir='/custom/path', # Put it here
    delete=True         # Auto-delete? Yes!
) as tmp:
    pass

🔍 glob: The Treasure Hunter

glob = Find files using patterns (like a search party)

The Magic Patterns

Think of glob as a treasure map reader:

• * = “anything” (any characters)
• ? = “exactly one mystery character”
• ** = “look everywhere, even in boxes inside boxes”

Find All Files of a Type

import glob

# Find all Python files
python_files = glob.glob('*.py')
print(python_files)
# ['main.py', 'utils.py', 'config.py']

Real-life: “Find me ALL the red blocks!”

Search in Subfolders

import glob

# Find ALL .txt files everywhere
all_texts = glob.glob('**/*.txt', recursive=True)

Real-life: “Look in every room, every drawer, every box for text files!”

Pattern Examples

import glob

# Files starting with "data"
glob.glob('data*')
# → ['data1.csv', 'data_backup.csv']

# Single character wildcard
glob.glob('file?.txt')
# → ['file1.txt', 'fileA.txt']

# Specific characters
glob.glob('[abc]*.py')
# → ['app.py', 'backup.py', 'config.py']

glob vs os.listdir

🎁 textwrap: The Gift Wrapper

textwrap = Make your text look pretty and fit nicely

Why Wrap Text?

Imagine writing a letter but your paper is only 40 characters wide. You need to wrap words so they don’t fall off the edge!

Basic Wrapping

import textwrap

long_text = "Python is a wonderful programming \
language that makes coding fun and easy."

# Wrap to 30 characters wide
wrapped = textwrap.wrap(long_text, width=30)
print(wrapped)
# ['Python is a wonderful',
#  'programming language that',
#  'makes coding fun and easy.']

Fill: Wrap and Join

import textwrap

long_text = "Python makes file handling \
easy with its powerful modules."

# Wrap AND join with newlines
result = textwrap.fill(long_text, width=25)
print(result)
# Python makes file
# handling easy with its
# powerful modules.

Real-life: Like folding a paper to fit in an envelope!

Remove Extra Indentation

import textwrap

messy_text = """
    This text is
    indented weirdly
    from the code
"""

clean = textwrap.dedent(messy_text)
print(clean)
# Now it's cleaned up!

Real-life: Like straightening a crooked picture frame.

Shorten Long Text

import textwrap

long_title = "The Complete Guide to Python"

short = textwrap.shorten(
    long_title,
    width=20,
    placeholder="..."
)
print(short)  # "The Complete..."

Add a Prefix to Each Line

import textwrap

quote = "Be yourself.\nEveryone else is taken."

# Add "> " to make it look quoted
result = textwrap.indent(quote, "> ")
print(result)
# > Be yourself.
# > Everyone else is taken.

🔗 Putting It All Together

Here’s how these helpers work as a team:

graph LR
    A["Your Python Script"] --> B["shutil"]
    A --> C["tempfile"]
    A --> D["glob"]
    A --> E["textwrap"]

    B --> B1["Copy Files"]
    B --> B2["Move Things"]
    B --> B3["Delete Folders"]

    C --> C1["Temp Files"]
    C --> C2["Temp Folders"]

    D --> D1["Find by Pattern"]
    D --> D2["Search Everywhere"]

    E --> E1["Wrap Text"]
    E --> E2["Clean Indents"]

Real-World Example: Backup Script

import shutil
import glob
import tempfile
from datetime import datetime

# 1. Find all Python files
py_files = glob.glob('**/*.py', recursive=True)

# 2. Create temp workspace
with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as tmpdir:
    # 3. Copy each file
    for f in py_files:
        shutil.copy2(f, tmpdir)

    # 4. Create backup archive
    today = datetime.now().strftime('%Y%m%d')
    shutil.make_archive(
        f'backup_{today}',
        'zip',
        tmpdir
    )
# Temp folder auto-cleans!

🎯 Quick Memory Tricks

🚀 You’re Ready!

You now have four powerful helpers in your Python toolkit:

1. shutil — Moves your data like a professional mover
2. tempfile — Creates secret spots that vanish when done
3. glob — Finds files using pattern magic
4. textwrap — Makes your text beautiful and organized

These tools work together to make file handling feel like magic. Go build something awesome! 🎉