python check if file is open by another process

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How do I create an Excel (.XLS and .XLSX) file in C# without installing Microsoft Office? The log file will be rollovered in certain interval. This will not detect if the file is open by other processes! The output from this code will print the result, if the file is found. Related: Learning Python? At a minimum you should pair the two rename operations together. Whether there is a pythonic or non-pythonic way of doing this will probably be the least of your concerns - the hard question will be whether what you are trying to achieve will be possible at all. We accomplish this by creating thousands of videos, articles, and interactive coding lessons - all freely available to the public. There are six additional optional arguments. File and Text Processing. Lets iterate over it and print them i.e. Is there a way to check if the current file has been opened by another application? Thank you very much Best regards cameron (Cameron Simpson) June 24, 2021, 11:25pm #2 Usually we don't do the such a check that way - it is racy. The following code returns a list of PIDs, in case the file is still opened/used by a process (including your own, if you have an open handle on the file): I provided one solution. Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience. I want to open a file which is periodically written to by another application. To use text or binary mode, you would need to add these characters to the main mode. File objects have attributes, such as: Updated on July 30, 2020, Simple and reliable cloud website hosting, New! 542), How Intuit democratizes AI development across teams through reusability, We've added a "Necessary cookies only" option to the cookie consent popup. This method follows a symbolic link, which means if the specified path is a symbolic link pointing to a directory, then the method will return True. #. How to create an empty NumPy Array in Python? How to use the file handle to open files for reading and writing. You can watch for file close events, indicating that a roll-over has happened. rev2023.3.1.43269. All Rights Reserved. rev2023.3.1.43269. Not finding what you were looking for or have an idea for a tutorial? When and how was it discovered that Jupiter and Saturn are made out of gas? According to the Python Documentation, this exception is: This exception is raised when you are trying to read or modify a file that don't have permission to access. @TimPietzcker Yes but if I use print wrapper function that writes into same file as a daemon process, should I keep the file open until the daemon process is ended, that is opened on the program startup. Thanks for contributing an answer to Stack Overflow! Ideally, the code in the print statement can be changed, as per the requirements of your program. How to open files for multiple operations. Python's os.path.isfile () method can be used to check a directory and if a specific file exists. By using Bytes.com and it's services, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. Let's see an example. attempting to find out what files are open in the legacy application, using the same techniques as ProcessExplorer (the equivalent of *nix's, you are even more vulnerable to race conditions than the OS-independent technique, it is highly unlikely that the legacy application uses locking, but if it is, locking is not a real option unless the legacy application can handle a locked file gracefully (by blocking, not by failing - and if your own application can guarantee that the file will not remain locked, blocking the legacy application for extender periods of time. Drift correction for sensor readings using a high-pass filter. If you have an application that relies on detecting, moving or copying files on a host, it can be quite dangerous to simply access these files without first confirming they are not being manipulated by another process or are currently in the process of being copied or written to. It is extremely important that we understand what the legacy application is doing, and what your python script is attempting to achieve. In Python, there are several ways to check if a file exists; here are the top methods you should know about. She has written content related to programming languages, cloud technology, AWS, Machine Learning, and much more. Is the Dragonborn's Breath Weapon from Fizban's Treasury of Dragons an attack? When you're working with files, errors can occur. Weapon damage assessment, or What hell have I unleashed? A better solution is to open the file in read-only mode and calculate the file's size. Thanks. I can just parse the output of lsof for the file I need before accessing it. To compare all files within a directory, all you need to do is create a function to iterate over the contents of a folder, creating a hash or measuring its size and storing that result in a dictionary, if the item you are iterating over is a sub-directory, we can recursively call the same function. Below code checks if any excel files are opened and if none of them matches the name of your particular one, openes a new one. Its syntax is subprocess.check_call(args, *, stdin=None, stdout=None, stderr=None, shell=False) This is my current working directory: With this mode, you can create a file and then write to it dynamically using methods that you will learn in just a few moments. sharing (locking): this assumes that the legacy program also opens the file in shared mode (usually the default in Windows apps); moreover, if your application acquires the lock just as the legacy application is attempting the same (race condition), the legacy application will fail. Python is a relatively easy-to-use language, and it offers a lot of options to the end users. To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. `os.rmdir` not working on empty directories? Or else it raises CalledProcessError. Follow me on Twitter. Not the answer you're looking for? When used, the internal Popen object is automatically created with stdin=PIPE, and the stdin argument may not be used as well. Now let's see how you can access the content of a file through a file object. That solves the problems brought up in the comments to his answer. The most accurate way to measure changes to a file is to directly compare the new version of the file to the old version. multiprocessing is a package that supports spawning processes using an API similar to the threading module. This can be done by storing a checksum of the initial file, waiting over a predetermined polling period, then comparing the old checksum to the new one. For us to be able to work file objects, we need to have a way to "interact" with them in our program and that is exactly what methods do. So I need a way to check this file is open before the writing process. Represent a tree hierarchy using an Excel spreadsheet to be easily parsed by Python CSV reader. That single character basically tells Python what you are planning to do with the file in your program. See something you don't agree with or feel could be improved? This is the basic syntax to call the write() method: Tip: Notice that I'm adding \n before the line to indicate that I want the new line to appear as a separate line, not as a continuation of the existing line. Click below to consent to the above or make granular choices. Has 90% of ice around Antarctica disappeared in less than a decade? This module . To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. for keeping the log files small. This will accurately measure any changes made to the file. In the code below, the try statement will attempt to open a file (testfile.txt). ), checking whether the legacy application has the file open (a la, suspending the legacy application process, repeating the check in step 1 to confirm that the legacy application did not open the file between steps 1 and 2; delay and restart at step 1 if so, otherwise proceed to step 4, doing your business on the file -- ideally simply renaming it for subsequent, independent processing in order to keep the legacy application suspended for a minimal amount of time. After the body has been completed, the file is automatically closed, so it can't be read without opening it again. To check files in use by other processes is operating system dependant. To be able to read a file and perform another operation in the same program, you need to add the "+" symbol to the mode, like this: Very useful, right? Start here for a quick overview of the site, Detailed answers to any questions you might have, Discuss the workings and policies of this site. The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes. Attempt to Write File 3.2. The syntax is as follows: os.popen (command [, mode [, bufsize]]) Here the command parameter is what you'll be executing, and its output will be available via an open file. It really makes sense for Python to grant only certain permissions based what you are planning to do with the file, right? Does With(NoLock) help with query performance? Torsion-free virtually free-by-cyclic groups. To check if process is running or not, lets iterate over all the running process using psutil.process_iter() and match the process name i.e. Check if a file is not open nor being used by another process, The open-source game engine youve been waiting for: Godot (Ep. To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. How can I recognize one? If favouring the "check whether the legacy application has the file open" (intrusive approach prone to race conditions) then you can solve the said race condition by: Updated NOTE on this solution: Checking with FileAccess.ReadWrite will fail for Read-Only files so the solution has been modified to check with FileAccess.Read. The first step is to import the built-in function using the import os.path library. How do I check if a directory exists or not in a Bash shell script? There has another thread also will regularly to process these log files. If no options are specified, fstat reports on all open files in the system. This can be used when the file that you are trying to open is in the same directory or folder as the Python script, like this: But if the file is within a nested folder, like this: Then we need to use a specific path to tell the function that the file is within another folder. For example copying or deleting a file. ), checking whether the legacy application has the file open (a la, suspending the legacy application process, repeating the check in step 1 to confirm that the legacy application did not open the file between steps 1 and 2; delay and restart at step 1 if so, otherwise proceed to step 4, doing your business on the file -- ideally simply renaming it for subsequent, independent processing in order to keep the legacy application suspended for a minimal amount of time. How to upgrade all Python packages with pip. Python - How to check if a file is used by another application? What factors changed the Ukrainians' belief in the possibility of a full-scale invasion between Dec 2021 and Feb 2022? To update all Python packages on Linux, you can use the following command in the command line: sudo pip install --upgrade pip && sudo pip freeze --local grep -v '^\-e' cut -d = -f 1 xargs -n1 sudo pip install -U. Is the legacy application opening and closing the file between writes, or does it keep it open? En Wed, 07 Mar 2007 02:28:33 -0300, Ros ). procObjList is a list of Process class objects. Since glob is used for pattern matching, you can use it to check a files status. If favouring the "check whether the legacy application has the file open" (intrusive approach prone to race conditions) then you can solve the said race condition by: Unix does not have file locking as a default. Why do we kill some animals but not others? Ackermann Function without Recursion or Stack. Let's see some of them. If you want to write several lines at once, you can use the writelines() method, which takes a list of strings. You'd still be in trouble even if python would let you write something like: if file_is_open(filename): process_file(filename) There's nothing that says no one will open the file after the file_is_open call but before the process_file call. If the connection fails this means Form1 is running nowhere else and I can safely open it. This is Windows specific, the question being about Excel then it makes sense, but not in every scenario this will be true. If you want to open and modify the file prefer to use the previous method. In such a situation, you'll first want to check that this is not the case, wait if necessary and the only proceed with accessing the necessary file. Creating a new process using fork() System call, 6 ways to get the last element of a list in Python, Python : Sort a List of numbers in Descending or Ascending Order | list.sort() vs sorted(), Python : How to Check if an item exists in list ? An issue with trying to find out if a file is being used by another process is the possibility of a race condition. Pathlib captures the necessary functionalities in one place, and makes it available through various methods to use with the path object. This code can work, but it can not reach my request, since i don't want to delete the file to check if it is open. The print should go after. import psutil. An issue with trying to find out if a file is being used by another process is the possibility of a race condition. The legacy application is opening and closing the file every X minutes, but I do not want to assume that at t = t_0 + n*X + eps it already closed the file. Every developer understands the need to create fall back codes, which can save a prorgram from failing in the case that a condition isn't met. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. If you want to learn how to work with files in Python, then this article is for you. I just need a solution for Windows as well. "How to Handle Exceptions in Python: A Detailed Visual Introduction". "C:\Users\Wini Bhalla\Desktop\Python test file.txt", "C:\Users\Wini Bhalla\Desktop\testdirectory", try and except statement checks a command, Learning Python? The only other option I could think of was to try and rename the file or directory containing the file temporarily, then rename it back. import psutil for proc in psutil.process_iter (): try: # this returns the list of opened files by the current process flist = proc.open_files () if flist: print (proc.pid,proc.name) for nt in flist: print ("\t",nt.path) # This catches a race condition where a process ends # before we can examine its files except psutil.NoSuchProcess as err: print It is useful mainly for system monitoring, profiling and limiting process resources, and management of running processes. Would the reflected sun's radiation melt ice in LEO? The first parameter of the open() function is file, the absolute or relative path to the file that you are trying to work with. Hi! How to increase the number of CPU in my computer? You could check a file, decide that it is not in use, then just before you open it another process (or thread) leaps in and grabs it (or even deletes it). Planned Maintenance scheduled March 2nd, 2023 at 01:00 AM UTC (March 1st, How do I print the process name next to the process ID number in a file? Partner is not responding when their writing is needed in European project application. How can I delete a file or folder in Python? This is basically why modes exist. I really hope you liked my article and found it helpful. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, Not the answer you're looking for? How to extract the coefficients from a long exponential expression? Tip: The write() method returns the number of characters written. File Input/Ouput (IO) requires 3 steps: Open the file for read or write or both. The second parameter of the open() function is the mode, a string with one character. One of the shell commands is probably the most portable way to get that native code, unless you find something on CPAN. Here is a generator that iterates over files in use for a specific PID: On Windows it is not quite so straightforward, the APIs are not published. Before executing a particular program, ensure your source files exist at the specific location. source: http://docs.python.org/2.4/lib/bltin-file-objects.html. Join our community today and connect with fellow devs! Will your python script desire to open the file for writing or for reading? @DennisLi Same happened to me. You have two ways to do it (append or write) based on the mode that you choose to open it with. The try and except statement checks a command and produces an output. :). Now you can work with files in your Python projects. To do this, you need to call the close() method, like this: You can read a file line by line with these two methods. Why is there a memory leak in this C++ program and how to solve it, given the constraints? Let's see them in detail. The first step is to import the built-in function using the import os.path library. 1. Read/Write data. 2023 ITCodar.com. I realize it is probably OS dependent, so this may not really be python related right now. Is there a way to check if a file with given name is opened by some process (other than our process)? Required fields are marked *. A file is considered open by a This is an example of a context manager used to work with files: Tip: The body of the context manager has to be indented, just like we indent loops, functions, and classes. Note: A curious thing is that if you try to run this line again and a file with that name already exists, you will see this error: According to the Python Documentation, this exception (runtime error) is: Now that you know how to create a file, let's see how you can modify it. This is the file now, after running the script: Tip: The new line might not be displayed in the file until f.close() runs. Context Managers help you work with files and manage them by closing them automatically when a task has been completed. Context Managers are Python constructs that will make your life much easier. I can still open a file which is opend with 'w+' by another process. Pythons dependency on external files is a crucial aspect, and you need to pay heed to the base/source files, before executing any codes. The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network. If you try modify the file during the poll time, it will let you know that it has been modified. # have changed, unless they are both False. The test command in the sub-process module is an efficient way of testing the existence of files and directories. Since Python is a vast language, it's best to spend some time understanding the different nuances and its range of commands. while I vim a file, but it returned False. And we want to add a new line to it, we can open it using the "a" mode (append) and then, call the write() method, passing the content that we want to append as argument. 1. The value returned is limited to this number of bytes: Important: You need to close a file after the task has been completed to free the resources associated to the file. How to react to a students panic attack in an oral exam? "TypeError: a bytes-like object is required, not 'str'" when handling file content in Python 3. If the user interrupts the program (ctrl-c) after the first rename then the filename will not be restored and the user will be unaware of this condition. Its a valuable answer. This is the initial file: The lines are added to the end of the file: Now you know how to create, read, and write to a file, but what if you want to do more than one thing in the same program? In her free time, she likes to paint, spend time with her family and travel to the mountains, whenever possible. Just as we did in the first method, to determine whether a file has been modified, all we need to do is call our comparison function at two intervals, then compare the output. freeCodeCamp's open source curriculum has helped more than 40,000 people get jobs as developers. According to the Python Documentation, a file object is: An object exposing a file-oriented API (with methods such as read () or write ()) to an underlying resource. With her family and travel to the old version issue with trying to find out a... Hierarchy using an Excel spreadsheet to be easily parsed by Python CSV reader '' when handling file content Python..., it 's services, you can access the content of a file ( testfile.txt ) what have... Whenever possible functionalities in one place, and the stdin argument may not really be Python right! A bytes-like object is automatically created with stdin=PIPE, and makes it through!, fstat reports on all open files for reading and writing similar to top. Your Python script is attempting to achieve returned False print statement can be used as well to students... The existence of files and manage them by closing them automatically when a task has been completed, try... A decade reaches the end of another thing how was it discovered that and! To this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS.. To be easily parsed by Python CSV reader options to the mountains, whenever possible and rise to the users! The requirements of your program a memory leak in this function call: only contains the name of file. Append or write or both kill some animals but not in every scenario this be! Numpy Array in Python, there are several ways to do the similar at! Of options to the end of another thing print statement can be used well... Life much easier is opened by some process ( other than our process?. Version of the open ( ) method can be imported using the import library. Breath Weapon from Fizban 's Treasury of Dragons an attack all freely available to top! On the mode that you choose to open a file is open before the writing.! An API similar to the end of that line this code will the! Handle correctness only in 99.99 % of the file, right accurately measure any changes made to old! The best experiences, we use python check if file is open by another process like cookies to store and/or access device information time with her and... One place, and interactive coding lessons - all freely available to the end of another thing required, 'str. Os library statement can be changed, as per the requirements of program... Storage or access that is used for pattern matching, you agree to our Privacy Policy and of. Can still open a file with given name is opened by another process the! Ensure your source files exist at the specific location of all the running chrome.exe process the argument... But I can safely open it with in your program that Jupiter and Saturn made! Measure any changes made to the base/source files before executing a particular program, ensure your source files exist the! These log files from this code will print the result, if the connection fails this Form1. To store and/or access device information Python projects some time understanding the different and... A specific file exists you liked my article and found it helpful is... Platform to list open files be imported using the import os library statement can be used to if... My article and found it helpful statements based on opinion ; back them up with references or personal experience append... Certain permissions based what you are planning to do with the file I need a way get. To solve it, given the constraints made to the end users,! Given the constraints ) method can be used to check a directory exists or not a... For example, the internal Popen object is required, not 'str ' '' handling... A decade attempt to open the file, but not others parsed Python! One character Python - how to increase the number of CPU in my,! Contains the name of the open ( ) reads one line of the file to the users! The writing process this will be true found it helpful w+ ' by another process I want to learn to! His answer for reading help you work with files and manage them by closing them automatically when a task been! Log files connect with fellow devs, such as: Updated on July,..., articles, and makes it available through various methods to use text or binary mode, a string one... Open-Source mods for my video game to stop plagiarism or at least enforce attribution. To work with files and manage them by closing them automatically when a task has been completed, the is. Kill some animals but not others an empty NumPy Array in Python 40,000 people get jobs as.. The system much more the file handle to open a file is open by other processes is operating system.... It will let you know that it has been opened by another process is current... Language, and it 's wise to pay heed to the base/source files before executing any code executing particular... Module, which can be imported using the import function in read-only mode and calculate the I... And makes it available through various methods to use the file I need before accessing it necessary functionalities one... String with one character your RSS reader method returns the number of characters written python check if file is open by another process consent to the end.! System dependant the number of CPU in my app, I write an... To an Excel spreadsheet to be easily parsed by Python CSV reader file with given name opened. Means python check if file is open by another process is running nowhere else and I can still open a file is being used by application. With one character this function call: only contains the name of the open ( ) method can be to. And how to increase the number of CPU in my computer can with. Scenario this will not detect if the file until it reaches the end users the... We kill some animals but not in a Bash shell script enforce proper attribution query performance regularly to process log... Open ( ) method returns the number of characters written code, unless you find something on CPAN parse... From this code will print the result, if the directory exists or not every! Opening it again another process is the possibility of a race condition the internal Popen object required! Base/Source files before executing any code has helped more than 40,000 people get jobs as.. Checks a command and produces an output need a solution for Windows as well shell script and coding... Multiprocessing is a crucial aspect, it 's best to spend some time understanding the different nuances and range! Of another thing write ( ) function is the current process, an easy way is to use the method... Be imported using the import function Python CSV reader Policy and Terms of use specific, the import.... It has been completed, the file handle to open the file, but it returned False file is! Characters to the end of another thing external files is a relatively easy-to-use language, and 's... Access device information you have two ways to do the similar things at Windows platform to list open files pattern! Can occur and it offers a lot of options to the public is periodically to... One place, and it 's best to spend some time understanding the different and... Introduction '' the log file will be true to directly compare the New version the! To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into RSS... Or does it keep it open function using the import os.path library source files exist at the specified.! % of ice around Antarctica disappeared in less than a decade should about! Two ways to check if the directory exists or not in every scenario this be. Is False, since the folder/directory doesnt exist at the specified path version... Used, the internal Popen object is automatically closed, so this may really... Easy-To-Use language, it will let you know that it has been modified from. The answer you 're working with files and directories to pay heed to top... Find out if a directory and if a file through a file object attribute `` closed '' it will you. It keep it open Weapon from Fizban 's Treasury of Dragons an attack when you 're for. Specified, fstat reports on all open files in the code below, the below... Python & # x27 ; s os.path.isfile ( ) function is the possibility of a race condition 3! Scenario this will not detect if the file until it reaches the end of that...., and interactive coding lessons - all freely available to the base/source files before executing any code regularly process. 'Re working with files and manage them by closing them automatically when task. On your system process these log files spend time with her family travel! Adding something to the file prefer to use the file prefer to use the file is used! Certain interval is extremely important that we understand what the legacy application is doing, and makes it available various... Chrome.Exe process files in your Python projects '' when handling file content in Python, there are several ways do! Your RSS reader a students panic attack in an oral exam will not detect if the file, and! String with one character tree hierarchy using an Excel spreadsheet to be easily parsed by Python reader... Such as: Updated on July 30, 2020, Simple and reliable cloud website hosting New. To extract the coefficients from a long exponential expression you try modify the file I need way... The path object file for writing or for reading and writing, the internal Popen object python check if file is open by another process. Glob is used for pattern matching, you can access the content of a file exists Pathlib!

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