Want to wrangle data like a Python pro? A crucial skill is knowing how to open and read files. It's simpler than you think! Python's `open()` function is your gateway. Use it like this: `file = open('my_data.txt', 'r')`. The 'r' tells Python you want to *read* the file.
Now, let's get the content. `file.read()` grabs the entire file as a single string. For line-by-line processing, try `file.readlines()`, which returns a list of strings. A more memory-efficient way, especially for large files, is iterating: `for line in file: print(line)`.
Remember, always close your files after you're done: `file.close()`. A better practice is using the `with` statement: `with open('my_data.txt', 'r') as file: # Your code here`. This automatically closes the file, even if errors occur. Now you're ready to unlock the data within!
