[Tut] Python Convert CSV to Text File (.csv to .txt)

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Python Convert CSV to Text File (.csv to .txt)

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Basic Challenge

Here’s the content of an example CSV file

Code:

"my_file.csv"

used in our code snippet below:

Code:

Name,Job,Age,Income Alice,Programmer,23,110000 Bob,Executive,34,90000 Carl,Sales,45,50000

If you visualize this CSV in table form, it looks like this:

Name |
Job |
Age |
Income

Alice |
Programmer |
23 |
110000

Bob |
Executive |
34 |
90000

Carl |
Sales |
45 |
50000

The basic problem is to convert the CSV file

Code:

"my_file.csv"

to a new TXT file

Code:

"my_file.txt"

as is without changing its content

Code:

Name,Job,Age,Income Alice,Programmer,23,110000 Bob,Executive,34,90000 Carl,Sales,45,50000

We start with exploring this basic challenge and build from there by changing the delimiter and using Pandas to access individual columns.

But first things first: How to convert a CSV file to a TXT file without changing its contents?

Method 1: CSV to TXT Unchanged

If you want to keep the content (including the delimiter

Code:

','

) in the CSV file unmodified, the conversion is simple: read the

Code:

.csv

file and write its content into a new

Code:

.txt

file using the

Code:

open()

,

Code:

read()

, and

Code:

write()

functions without importing any library.

In other words, perform the three steps to write a CSV to a TXT file unmodified:

1. Open the CSV file in reading mode and the TXT file in writing mode.
   
   
2. Read the CSV file and store it in a variable.
   
   
3. Write the content into the TXT file.
   

Here’s the code snippet that solves our basic challenge:

Code:

# 1. Open the CSV file in reading mode and the TXT file in writing mode with open('my_file.csv', 'r') as f_in, open('my_file.txt', 'w') as f_out: # 2. Read the CSV file and store in variable content = f_in.read() # 3. Write the content into the TXT file f_out.write(content)

Little-Known Fact: Python allows multiple expressions in the context manager (

Code:

with

opening line) if you separate them with a comma.

The content of the

Code:

.csv

and

Code:

.txt

files is identical:

Code:

Name,Job,Age,Income Alice,Programmer,23,110000 Bob,Executive,34,90000 Carl,Sales,45,50000

So far, so good. But what if you have a slightly different problem:

Method 2: CSV to TXT Empty Space Delimiter

Challenge: How to convert a CSV file to a TXT file in Python by replacing the delimiter

Code:

','

with the empty space

Code:

' '

?

Example: Convert the following file

Code:

'my_file.csv'

…

Code:

Name,Job,Age,Income Alice,Programmer,23,110000 Bob,Executive,34,90000 Carl,Sales,45,50000

… to this file

Code:

'my_file.txt'

…

Code:

Name Job Age Income Alice Programmer 23 110000 Bob Executive 34 90000 Carl Sales 45 50000

Here’s the simple solution to this challenge:

If you want to change the delimiter

Code:

','

to an empty string

Code:

' '

in the new TXT file, read the

Code:

.csv

file and write its content into a new

Code:

.txt

file using the

Code:

open()

,

Code:

read()

,

Code:

string.replace()

, and

Code:

write()

functions without importing any library.

To convert a CSV to a TXT file in Python, perform the following steps:

1. Open the CSV file in reading mode and the TXT file in writing mode.
   
   
2. Read the CSV file into a string.
   
   
3. Create a new string by replacing all occurrences of the delimiter
   Code:

   ','
   with the empty string
   Code:

   ' '
   .
   
   
4. Write the content into the TXT file.
   

Code:

with open('my_file.csv', 'r') as f_in, open('my_file.txt', 'w') as f_out: content = f_in.read().replace(',', ' ') f_out.write(content)

So far, so good. But in Python, there are always many ways to solve a problem. Let’s have a look at a powerful alternative to the no-library approach used before:

Method 3: CSV to TXT using Pandas

Assuming you’ve already installed pandas in your local environment, you can write a CSV to a TXT file in Python pandas using the following four steps:

1. Import the
   Code:

   pandas
   library.
   
   
2. Read the CSV file into a DataFrame using
   Code:

   pd.read_csv()
   .
   
   
3. Convert the DataFrame to a String using the built-in
   Code:

   str()
   function.
   
   
4. Print the string to a file using the file argument of the
   Code:

   print()
   function, for example.
   

Here’s the basic Python example:

Code:

import pandas as pd df = pd.read_csv('my_file.csv') content = str(df) print(content, file=open('my_file.txt', 'w'))

Little-Known Fact: Python’s

Code:

print()

function allows you to write a string directly into a fileobject if you use the

Code:

file

argument as shown in the code snippet.

The output of the previous code snippet is as follows:

Code:

Name Job Age Income 0 Alice Programmer 23 110000 1 Bob Executive 34 90000 2 Carl Sales 45 50000

Beautiful, isn’t it?

Let’s have a look at the last variation of the “CSV to TXT” problem addressed in this tutorial:

Method 4: CSV Columns or Rows to TXT using Pandas

How to write one or more individual columns or rows of the CSV file into a TXT file using Python Pandas?

1. Import the
   Code:

   pandas
   library.
   
   
2. Read the CSV file into a DataFrame using
   Code:

   pd.read_csv()
   .
   
   
3. Select the column(s) or row(s) to write into the TXT file from the DataFrame using Pandas indexing or slicing.
   
   
4. Call
   Code:

   df.to_string()
   to convert the DataFrame to a string in a human-readable way.
   
   
5. Print the string to a file using the file argument of the
   Code:

   print()
   function, for example.
   

Code:

import pandas as pd df = pd.read_csv('my_file.csv') content = str(df['Name']) print(content, file=open('my_file.txt', 'w'))

The content in a new file

Code:

'my_file.txt'

:

Code:

0 Alice 1 Bob 2 Carl

Of course, you can also select individual rows or multiple columns like so:

Code:

import pandas as pd df = pd.read_csv('my_file.csv') content = df['Name'][:2].to_string() print(content, file=open('my_file.txt', 'w'))

The content of the new file

Code:

'my_file.txt'

shows that only the first two rows have been taken due to the slicing operation

Code:

[:2]

in the previous code snippet:

Code:

0 Alice 1 Bob

Done! You’ve earned some programming enjoyment:

Programmer Humor

Code:

Question: How did the programmer die in the shower? ☠

❗ Answer: They read the shampoo bottle instructions:
Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

Conclusion

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