Troubleshooting FileNotFoundError: No Such File or Directory

When attempting to open a file, you may encounter a "FileNotFoundError: [Errno 2] No such file or directory" error, indicating that Python cannot locate the specified file. This issue often arises due to discrepancies between the current working directory and the file's actual location.

Understanding Relative Paths

By default, when you open a file with a name like 'address.csv', you are assuming that it is located in the current working directory. This is known as a relative path. To determine the current working directory, you can use the following code:

import os

cwd = os.getcwd()  # Get the current working directory (cwd)
print(cwd)

Providing an Absolute Path

An alternative approach is to specify an absolute path, which explicitly defines the full directory and file location. For example:

f = open("/Users/foo/address.csv")

This path indicates that the 'address.csv' file is located in the directory '/Users/foo/'. Using an absolute path ensures that the file is accessed regardless of the current working directory.

Additional Tips

• Ensure that the file exists and is not corrupted.
• Check if the specified file path is accurate and typo-free.
• Verify that the user has the necessary permissions to access the file.
• In some cases, the file may be hidden or within a subdirectory, so adjust the path accordingly.