I can't figure out how to get the length of a file in Python. The files I'm dealing with are relatively small, so I could read() the whole thing into a buffer then get len(buffer), but there must be an easier way. Google isn't helping, so I figured I'd ask here. Any help is appreciated!

What's wrong with stat()? And what's wrong with Mepis - doesn't it provide the Python docs? If not, they are all available online at python.org, along with other resources.

stat() is great! Nothing is wrong with MEPIS! The Python docs make no reference to stat() under the file object IO sections... rather it is found (I went back and checked) under Chapter 6.1 (OS), section 4, "Files and Directories". When looking for information on reading and writing files, I went for the built in file object documentation, which makes no mention of anything in the os module. Seeing as the sections are quite interrelated, a link or two across would have been helpful! Thanks for the help!