Convert text files from one format to another (e.g., TXT to CSV): November 16, 2024

Convert Text Files from One Format to Another (e.g., TXT to CSV)

As a developer, you often encounter text files in various formats, and converting them to a different format can be a tedious task. Luckily, Python provides an easy way to achieve this with its built-in libraries. In this post, we’ll explore how to convert text files from one format to another, specifically from TXT to CSV.

What is the need for file conversion?

File conversion is essential when working with different data formats. Consider the following scenarios:

You need to import data from a TXT file to a spreadsheet application like Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets, but it’s in a format that’s not compatible.
You’re working with a team, and each member uses a different file format for data sharing.
You need to integrate data from multiple sources, but each source uses a different file format.

In these situations, file conversion can save you time, effort, and even reduce errors.

The Conversion Process

The process of converting a TXT file to a CSV file involves reading the TXT file, formatting the data according to CSV standards, and writing the data to a new CSV file. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

Open the TXT file using Python’s built-in open() function.
Read the file contents using the read() method.
Split the contents into individual lines using the splitlines() method.
Convert each line into a CSV row by formatting it according to CSV standards.
Write the formatted data to a new CSV file using the open() function in write mode.


import csv

# Open the TXT file
with open('input.txt', 'r') as f:
    # Read the file contents
    contents = f.read()

    # Split the contents into individual lines
    lines = contents.splitlines()

    # Convert each line into a CSV row
    csv_rows = [line.split(',') for line in lines]

    # Write the formatted data to a new CSV file
    with open('output.csv', 'w') as f:
        writer = csv.writer(f)
        writer.writerows(csv_rows)

Conclusion

In this post, we’ve seen how to convert a TXT file to a CSV file using Python. The process involves reading the TXT file, formatting the data according to CSV standards, and writing the data to a new CSV file.

More Conversion Options

While conversion from TXT to CSV is a common task, Python can handle conversions between many other file formats. Some popular formats include:

JSON to XML
CSV to Excel (XLSX)
JSON to CSV
XML to JSON

These conversions can be achieved using Python’s built-in libraries, such as json, xml.etree.ElementTree, and pandas.

What’s Next?

What file conversions do you need to perform regularly? Share your experiences and suggestions in the comments below! 🤔

Tags:

Python, File Conversion, TXT to CSV, CSV, JSON, XML, Excel

Convert text files from one format to another (e.g., TXT to CSV): November 16, 2024