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Python, the `with` statement

Published Jan 29 2021

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The with statement is very helpful to simplify working with exception handling.

For example when working with files, each time we open a file, we must remember to close it.

with makes this process transparent.

Instead of writing:

filename = '/Users/flavio/test.txt'

try:
    file = open(filename, 'r')
    content = file.read()
    print(content)
finally:
    file.close()

You can write:

filename = '/Users/flavio/test.txt'

with open(filename, 'r') as file:
    content = file.read()
    print(content)

In other words we have built-in implicit exception handling, as close() will be called automatically for us.

with is not just helpful to work with files. The above example is just meant to introduce its capabilities.

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