How can I convert .txt file into a list python?

Question

Within the .txt file:

[['Courtney fan', 'https://www.aaa.com', 'he is a good guy'], ['Courtney fan', 'https://www.bbb.com', 'Dave Butner', 'https://www.ccc.com', 'Austin']]

I tried this method, but it doesn't split properly:

with open("/Users/jj/Desktop/Courtney_fan.txt","r") as f:
       sd = f.read().split()

How can I write this into a nested list in python?

This looks like valid json. Just import the json module and use the load function within it. — Noufal Ibrahim
– Noufal Ibrahim, Commented Sep 12, 2017 at 6:22
It is already in the form of the list inside a text file. Check how to read txt file its simple. Read the input/output (i/o) documentation of python. — Ayush Kesarwani
– Ayush Kesarwani, Commented Sep 12, 2017 at 6:23

DBrowne · Accepted Answer · 2017-09-12 06:34:14Z

5

If the data is a valid python literal (list, dict etc..) you can use the literal_eval function from pythons built-in ast package. This is better than a solution using eval as it will only evaluate a valid data structure, and does not allow arbitrary code execution. There are almost zero cases where using plain eval is a good idea.

from ast import literal_eval

with open("/Users/jj/Desktop/Courtney_fan.txt","r") as f:
    my_list = literal_eval(f.read())

edited Sep 12, 2017 at 6:34

answered Sep 12, 2017 at 6:25

DBrowne

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Comments

Benjamin Mohn · Accepted Answer · 2017-09-12 06:39:22Z

0

As your .txt file appears to be correct formatted and ist read in as a string the build in function eval() does this for you.

Here an example which is similar to your string in the txt-file:

test = "['a', ['b','c']]"
>>> trial = eval(test)
>>> type(trial)
<class 'list'>
>>> trial
['a', ['b', 'c']]

For you it would then be:

with open("/Users/jj/Desktop/Courtney_fan.txt") as f:
       sd = f.read()

sd_list = eval(sd)

edited Sep 12, 2017 at 6:39

answered Sep 12, 2017 at 6:29

Benjamin Mohn

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Comments

Daniel Lee · Accepted Answer · 2017-09-12 06:42:18Z

0

You simply need to open the file and read it. json should do this for you. What have you tried? And why didn't it work?

import json

with open(".txt") as f:
    l = json.load(f)

edited Sep 12, 2017 at 6:42

answered Sep 12, 2017 at 6:20

Daniel Lee

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