How Can I Efficiently Monitor File Changes in Python Using Watchdog?

Watching a File for Changes in Python Using Watchdog

Monitoring changes to a file in real time is crucial for various applications. In Python, leveraging the capabilities of the PyWin32 library for file monitoring can prove challenging.

However, an alternative solution lies in Watchdog, a robust library tailored for detecting file system events. Watchdog provides a comprehensive API and shell utilities for directory monitoring.

To begin, install Watchdog using pip:

pip install watchdog

Next, import the necessary modules and define a function to process file changes:

import watchdog.observers
import watchdog.events

def on_modified(event):
    # Process the modified file contents here
    pass

Create an event handler and schedule it to monitor the desired file:

event_handler = watchdog.events.FileSystemEventHandler()
event_handler.on_modified = on_modified

observer = watchdog.observers.Observer()
observer.schedule(event_handler, '/path/to/file', recursive=True)
observer.start()

By utilizing Watchdog, you can monitor file changes efficiently without the need for polling. This approach is particularly advantageous when dealing with large log files or when real-time processing is essential.

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