Applications frequently need to save information between runs or read configuration data from external sources. Working with files stored on the operating system is a fundamental skill for handling persistent data. So far, the data structures and variables we've worked with exist only in the computer's memory while the script runs. This chapter introduces file input/output (I/O) operations in Python.

You will learn how to:

• Understand file paths and how Python locates files.
• Open files using different modes (read, write, append).
• Read data from existing text files.
• Write new data to text files.
• Append data to the end of existing files.
• Use the with statement for safer file handling, ensuring files are properly closed.