Python `open` function memory usage

Question

Does Python interpreter load all the file to RAM when it is opened for writing?

with open('file.txt' 'w') as file:
    file.write(some_content)

Opening in w mode truncates the file anyway, so there are no contents to load into memory. Also noteworthy: open takes a third, optional argument, which lets you control buffer size when reading. — Carsten
– Carsten, Commented Feb 16, 2015 at 9:46

Mark R. · Accepted Answer · 2015-02-16 09:41:55Z

29

No. As per the docs, open() wraps a system call and returns a file object, the file contents are not loaded into RAM (unless you invoke, E.G., readlines()).

answered Feb 16, 2015 at 9:41

Mark R.

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