How to resolve the algorithm Read a specific line from a file step by step in the Go programming language

Published on 12 May 2024 09:40 PM
#Go

How to resolve the algorithm Read a specific line from a file step by step in the Go programming language

Table of Contents

Problem Statement

Some languages have special semantics for obtaining a known line number from a file.

Demonstrate how to obtain the contents of a specific line within a file. For the purpose of this task demonstrate how the contents of the seventh line of a file can be obtained,   and store it in a variable or in memory   (for potential future use within the program if the code were to become embedded). If the file does not contain seven lines,   or the seventh line is empty,   or too big to be retrieved,   output an appropriate message. If no special semantics are available for obtaining the required line,   it is permissible to read line by line. Note that empty lines are considered and should still be counted. Also note that for functional languages or languages without variables or storage,   it is permissible to output the extracted data to standard output.

Let's start with the solution:

Step by Step solution about How to resolve the algorithm Read a specific line from a file step by step in the Go programming language

The provided Go code defines a function rsl which reads a specified line from a given file and returns it as a string. It also handles errors that may occur during the process. A brief explanation of the code:

  1. Function Definition: The rsl function takes two parameters: fn (the file name) and n (the line number to read). It returns a string representing the requested line and an error if any occurs.

  2. Input Validation: It first checks if the requested line number (n) is valid (greater than 0). If it's not, it returns an error indicating an invalid request.

  3. File Opening: The function opens the file specified by fn using os.Open. If the file cannot be opened, it returns an error.

  4. Buffered Reader: A buffered reader (bufio.NewReader) is used to read the file more efficiently. It allows for reading lines at a time.

  5. Line Reading: The function enters a loop to read lines from the file. It continues reading until it reaches the requested line number (n). For each line, it checks for potential errors.

  6. Line Validation: After reading the requested line, it checks if the line is empty (line == ""). If the requested line is empty, it returns an error.

  7. Return Result: If no errors occurred, the function returns the requested line as a string and nil for the error.

  8. Main Function: In the main function, it calls rsl("input.txt", 7) to read the 7th line from the file "input.txt." If successful, it prints the requested line. If any errors occur during the rsl call, it prints the error message.

Source code in the go programming language

package main

import (
	"bufio"
	"errors"
	"fmt"
	"io"
	"os"
)

func main() {
	if line, err := rsl("input.txt", 7); err == nil {
		fmt.Println("7th line:")
		fmt.Println(line)
	} else {
		fmt.Println("rsl:", err)
	}
}

func rsl(fn string, n int) (string, error) {
	if n < 1 {
		return "", fmt.Errorf("invalid request: line %d", n)
	}
	f, err := os.Open(fn)
	if err != nil {
		return "", err
	}
	defer f.Close()
	bf := bufio.NewReader(f)
	var line string
	for lnum := 0; lnum < n; lnum++ {
		line, err = bf.ReadString('\n')
		if err == io.EOF {
			switch lnum {
			case 0:
				return "", errors.New("no lines in file")
			case 1:
				return "", errors.New("only 1 line")
			default:
				return "", fmt.Errorf("only %d lines", lnum)
			}
		}
		if err != nil {
			return "", err
		}
	}
	if line == "" {
		return "", fmt.Errorf("line %d empty", n)
	}
	return line, nil
}


  

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