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Count characters in a text file in Python

In this exercise, you will develop a Python program that counts how many times a specific character appears in a given file (of any type). This exercise is perfect for practicing file handling, string manipulation, and command-line arguments in Python. By implementing this program, you will gain hands-on experience in handling file operations, string manipulation, and command-line arguments in Python. This exercise not only reinforces your understanding of file handling but also helps you develop efficient coding practices for managing user interactions.



Group

Managing Files in Python

Objective

Develop a Python program that counts how many times a specific character appears in a given file (of any type).

The program should allow the user to input the file name and the character to search for, or these can be passed as command-line arguments:

Example:
count example.txt a

The program should display the count of occurrences of the specified character.

(Feel free to design the user interaction and display appropriate guidance if needed.)

Example Python Exercise

 Copy Python Code 
import sys

def count_character_in_file(file_name, character):
    """
    Counts how many times a specific character appears in a given file.
    
    Parameters:
    file_name (str): The name of the file to search.
    character (str): The character to search for in the file.
    
    Returns:
    int: The count of occurrences of the specified character.
    """
    count = 0
    try:
        # Open the file in read mode
        with open(file_name, 'r') as file:
            # Read the content of the file
            content = file.read()
            
            # Count the occurrences of the specified character
            count = content.count(character)
        
        return count
        
    except FileNotFoundError:
        print(f"The file '{file_name}' was not found.")
        return -1  # Indicates file was not found
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"An error occurred: {e}")
        return -1  # Indicates an unexpected error

# Main program execution
if __name__ == "__main__":
    # Check if the correct number of arguments are provided
    if len(sys.argv) == 3:
        # Extract command-line arguments
        file_name = sys.argv[1]
        character = sys.argv[2]
        
        # Validate that only one character is provided
        if len(character) != 1:
            print("Please provide exactly one character to search for.")
        else:
            # Call the function to count the character in the file
            count = count_character_in_file(file_name, character)
            if count != -1:
                print(f"The character '{character}' appears {count} times in the file '{file_name}'.")
    else:
        # Ask the user for the file name and character if no command-line args
        file_name = input("Please enter the file name: ")
        character = input("Please enter the character to search for: ")
        
        # Validate that only one character is provided
        if len(character) != 1:
            print("Please provide exactly one character to search for.")
        else:
            # Call the function to count the character in the file
            count = count_character_in_file(file_name, character)
            if count != -1:
                print(f"The character '{character}' appears {count} times in the file '{file_name}'.")

 Output

Assume example.txt contains:
apple
banana
avocado

If you run the following command:
python count_character.py example.txt a

The program will output:
The character 'a' appears 6 times in the file 'example.txt'.

If the file does not exist or an error occurs, the program will display:
The file 'nonexistent.txt' was not found.

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