python trim tab from file

Question

I am importing a tab separated file.

import csv
with open(logfile) as f:
    csvlines = csv.reader(f,delimiter='\t')
    for row in csvlines:
        print(row)
 prints [' mike            john              steve']

Is there a way to have it print

 make|steve|john

I tried using csv.DictReader but since it's not a true csv file is mucks up

Answer 1

Unable to reproduce:

import csv
logfile = "t.txt"

with open(logfile,"w") as f:
    f.write('mike\tjohn\tsteve\n')
    f.write('mike           john           steve\n')  # no tabs, just spaces

with open(logfile) as f:
    csvlines = csv.reader(f,delimiter='\t')
    for row in csvlines:
        print(row) 

Output:

['mike', 'john', 'steve']
['mike           john           steve']

You probably have a space seperated file before you .... hence all are matched into one column.

---

You can parse a space separated file by:

with open(logfile) as f:
    csvlines = csv.reader(f,delimiter=' ', skipinitialspace=True)
    for row in csvlines:
        print(row)  

Wich gives you:

['mike\tjohn\tsteve']        # no spaces, all in one column
['mike', 'john', 'steve']    # multiple consecutive spaces = 1 column-divider