Converting a text file to a list in Python 3.x

Question

I'm trying to build a function that reads lines of text and then saves each line as part of a list. However, when I try to call the variable for the list in Python after running the function, the interpreter tells me that the variable has not been assigned. Here is a segment of my code:

   def loadFile(filename1='word1.txt', filename2='word2.txt', filename3='word3.txt') :

        dataFile = open(filename1, "r")
        fileContentsList = []

        for eachLine in dataFile:
            fileContentsList.append(eachLine.rstrip())

        dataFile.close()
        return fileContentsList

When I run the code it prints the list but returns this error when I call fileContentsList:

Traceback (most recent call last):
    File "<pyshell#1>", line 1, in <module>
        fileContentsList
    NameError: name 'fileContentsList' is not defined

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!

Answer 1

If you're trying to access fileContentsList from outside the method, it won't be in scope. Be sure to use something like:

fileContentsList = loadFile(...)

outside of the method.