Python 2.7.11 write output to a text file

Question

I am new to python and I am trying to figure out how to write the results to a text file. Here is my code:

from os import getenv
import sqlite3

conn = sqlite3.connect(getenv("APPDATA") + "\..\Local\...sanitized")
conn3 = sqlite3.connect(getenv("APPDATA") + "\..\Local\...sanitized")
conn1 = sqlite3.connect(getenv("APPDATA") + "\..\Local\...sanitized")
cursor3 = conn3.cursor()
cursor1 = conn1.cursor()
cursor = conn.cursor()
cursor.execute('SELECT ...sanitized')
for result in cursor.fetchall():
    ...sanitized
    if password:
        print "Site: " + result[0]
        print 'Username: ' + result[1]
        print 'Password: ' + password
        print '---------------------------------------------'
cursor3.execute("...sanitized") 
print("fetchall:")
result = cursor3.fetchall() 
for r in result:
    print(r)

cursor1.execute("...sanitized") 
print("fetchall:")
result = cursor1.fetchall() 
for r in result:
    print(r)

I have tried f = open('output.txt') at the beginning of the code and placed

f.write(r) # and I tried 
f.write(result) # after defining it near bottom as these are my variables 
f.close()# :(

The traceback says it was expecting a string?

Can someone help explain what should go into the print(here) ? I am trying to grasp the concepts but don't quite get it yet

Thanks

If you are using Unix, just pipe the output to a file: `python myscript.py > output.txt` — tobias_k, Mar 22 '16 at 21:06
So is your code successfully printing the strings to the screen in your loop, and it's just not writing to the file? Also, could you paste the exact string error message you are getting? — ode2k, Mar 22 '16 at 21:11
Related: [Redirect stdout to a file in Python?](http://stackoverflow.com/q/4675728/4279) — jfs, Mar 22 '16 at 22:25

score 8 · Answer 1 · edited Apr 28 '18 at 16:00

8

First, you want to make sure you open the file for writing:

f=open("output.txt","w")

Then you could use:

for r in result:
    print >> f, r

At the end of your script, make sure you use:

f.close()

Alternatively, you may need to cast your r to a string print >> f, str(r)

edited Apr 28 '18 at 16:00

simhumileco

31,877
16
137
115

answered Mar 22 '16 at 21:18

ode2k

2,653
13
20

Hi I have done this and I get error from this : print "Site: " + result[0] – SafetyNetter Mar 24 '16 at 07:11
Use `print "Site: " + str(result[0])` – Avión Apr 01 '16 at 12:50

score 3 · Answer 2 · answered Apr 01 '16 at 12:47

As others have mentioned, you need to specify that you want to write to the file, by using the argument 'w'.

It is best practice to use with when opening your file. It will notably ensure your file is closed properly, even if there's an exception.

with open('output.txt', 'w') as f:
    for r in result:
        f.write(str(r))

tobias_k · Answer 3 · 2016-03-22T21:22:21.677

It seems like result is a list, whereas write expects a string. So instead of f.write(result) you could try either f.write(str(result)) or, to get an output exactly as in your script:

for r in result:
    f.write(r)

Alternatively, you could import and then override the print function from Python 3, so that everything you print is automatically written to the file:

from __future__ import print_function

_print = print # reference to original print function
outfile = open("output.txt", "w") # file to write output to, mode is 'w' for writing
def print(*args, **kwargs):
    """new print function always writing to file"""
    _print(*args, file=outfile, **kwargs)

print("foo")
print("bar", end=" ")
print("blub")

outfile.close()

Or similarly, overwriting sys.stdout, and then just use print normally:

import sys
sys.stdout = open("output.txt", "w")

f.write(str(result)) worked, but why? Is it because converting to str? — SafetyNetter, Mar 24 '16 at 09:09
@SafetyNetter Yep, that's exactly the reason. `write` expects a string, so you have to convert whatever you pass into it to string first. It will not do that conversion for you. — tobias_k, Mar 24 '16 at 09:46

Python 2.7.11 write output to a text file

3 Answers3