Exercise 09-14:
Create a program that reads a text file and eliminates repeated spaces between words and at the end of lines. The output file must also not have more than one repeated blank line.
Answer:
##############################################################################
# Python From Scratch
# Author: Nilo Ney Coutinho Menezes
# Editora Novatec (c) 2010-2025 - LogiKraft 2025
# Site: https://pythonfromscratch.com
# ISBN: 978-85-7522-949-1 (Paperback), 978-85-7522-950-7 (hardcover), 978-85-7522-951-4 (ebook)
#
# File: chapter 09/exercise-09-14.py.py
##############################################################################
# Pay attention to encoding on Windows
import sys
if len(sys.argv) != 3:
print("\nUsage: exercise-09-14.py input output\n\n\n")
sys.exit(1)
input_file = sys.argv[1]
output_file = sys.argv[2]
file = open(input_file, "r", encoding="utf-8")
output = open(output_file, "w", encoding="utf-8")
blank = 0
for line in file:
# Removes spaces on the right
# Replace with strip if you also
# want to remove spaces on the left
line = line.rstrip()
line = line.replace(" ", "") # Removes repeated spaces
if line == "":
blank += 1 # Counts blank lines
else:
blank = 0 # If the line is not blank, resets the counter
if blank < 2: # Doesn't write from the second blank line
output.write(line + "\n")
file.close()
output.close()