On Tue, 10 Jan 2006, bill nieuwendorp wrote:
> I am trying to convert binary file to ascii
>
> here is the format spec
>
> steps = int 4
> value = int 4
> time = float 4 * steps
Hi Bill,
Ok, that structure seems fairly simple so far.
> >>> import struct
> >>> import string
> >>> f = file('binary_file','rb')
> >>> line = f.readline()
^^^^^^^^^^^^
Ah. Don't do this. *grin*
If our file is binary, the only safe function we can use to read from such
a file is read(). "newlines()" just shouldn't be a concept in binary
files: using readline() on a binary file is a major no-no.
Imagine what happens if your file only contains ten steps. As a hint:
look at ord('\n').
You mentioned earlier that you're expecting an integer, an integer, and
then a sequence of float. Don't count bytes if you can help it: let
Python's struct.calcsize() do this for you.
http://www.python.org/doc/lib/module-struct.html
Your machine may align bytes differently than you might expect: it may be
best to let the machine handle that for you.
Best of wishes to you!
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