Collect Python output till current execution and assign it to variable for sending email

Question

I am doing text processing using Python in which I am looking for a specific text in a console log and printing every matched line. This is accomplished by a function called:

get_matched_log_lines(url, search_pattern, print_pattern) where url = from which I get my log, search_pattern = my target search pattern, print_pattern = the way I want to print my output(its, %s.%s)

How do I send this entire output of function get_matched_log_lines() via email? Emailing function code is already written by me in Python.

Here is what I think/attempted so far:

email_content = get_matched_log_lines(url, search_pattern, print_pattern)
TO = 'recipient email address'
FROM ='sender email address'

#emailing function - py_mail
py_mail("Test email subject", email_content, TO, FROM) 

This provides me an empty email.

Answer 1

Here is my answer based on the suggestions by PyNEwbie:

   def get_matched_log_lines(url, search_pattern, print_pattern):
        out = open("output_file.txt", "w")
        for something in somthings:
              test = print_pattern % matched_line
              print >>out, test
            out.close()

^^ just a general example (syntax maybe incorrect). The idea is to open the file in write mode and then dumping the output in it.

fp = open("output_file.txt", 'r')
    # Create a text/plain message
    msg = fp.read()
    fp.close()
    email_content = msg

Then open the same file in read mode and store its output to some var (in my case email_content)

Finally send an email with that email_content,

 email_content = get_matched_log_lines(url, search_pattern, print_pattern)
    TO = 'recipient email address'
    FROM ='sender email address'

#emailing function - py_mail
py_mail("Test email subject", email_content, TO, FROM)