Open multiple files using with open() in Python?

Question

if I somehow can combine the multiple open calls with the with statement:

try:

  with open('a', 'w') as a and open('b', 'w') as b:

    do_something()

except IOError as e:

  print 'Operation failed: %s' % e.strerror

If that's not possible, what other way to solve this problem look like?

Answer 1

You are using the syntax incorrectly here which is why you are getting the error. You need to separate these two 'open' statements using a comma ',' not an 'and'. Like this:

with open('a', 'w') as a and open('b', 'w') as b:

    do_something()

If you wish to get an in-depth understanding about python in general you should check out this video: