Print Last Line of File Read In with Python

Question

How could I print the final line of a text file read in with python?

fi=open(inputFile,"r")
for line in fi:
    #go to last line and print it

Answer 1

Three ways to read the last line of a file:

• For a small file, read the entire file into memory

---

with open("file.txt") as file:            
    lines = file.readlines()
print(lines[-1])

• For a big file, read line by line and print the last line

---

with open("file.txt") as file:
    for line in file:
        pass
print(line)

• For efficient approach, go directly to the last line

---

import os

with open("file.txt", "rb") as file:
    # Go to the end of the file before the last break-line
    file.seek(-2, os.SEEK_END) 
    # Keep reading backward until you find the next break-line
    while file.read(1) != b'\n':
        file.seek(-2, os.SEEK_CUR) 
    print(file.readline().decode())