[Python] 7.9 LAB: Sorting TV Shows (dictionaries and lists)

I've been stuck on this problem for several hours now and I'm at an impasse.

Task


Write a program that first reads in the name of an input file and then reads the input file using the file.readlines() method. The input file contains an unsorted list of the number of seasons followed by the corresponding TV show. Your program should put the contents of the input file into a dictionary where the number of seasons are the keys, and a list of TV shows are the values (since multiple shows could have the same number of seasons).

Sort the dictionary by key (least to greatest) and output the results to a file named output_keys.txt, separating multiple TV shows associated with the same key with a semicolon (. Next, sort the dictionary by values (alphabetical order), and output the results to a file named output_titles.txt.

Ex: If the input is:

file1.txt

and the contents of file1.txt are:

20
Gunsmoke
30
The Simpsons
10
Will & Grace
14
Dallas
20
Law & Order
12
Murder, She Wrote


the file output_keys.txt should contain:

10: Will & Grace
12: Murder, She Wrote
14: Dallas
20: Gunsmoke; Law & Order
30: The Simpsons


and the file output_titles.txt should contain:

Dallas
Gunsmoke
Law & Order
Murder, She Wrote
The Simpsons
Will & Grace


Note: There is a newline at the end of each output file, and file1.txt is available to download.

Problem


The issue I'm running into is that I can get file1.txt to load but, when add file2.txt I'm getting errors all over the place.



Attempted Solution


def read_file(file1):
"""
Reads the input file and parses it into a dictionary
with seasons as keys and lists of TV shows as values.
"""
dict1 = {}
try:
with open(file1, 'r') as f:
file_lines = f.readlines()

for i in range(0, len(file_lines) - 1, 2):
if file_lines.strip() == '':
continue

# Parse season and shows
season = int(file_lines.strip())
show = file_lines[i + 1].strip()

# Append to dictionary
if season in dict1:
dict1[season].append(show)
else:
dict1[season] = [show]

print(f"Parsed: Season {season}, Show '{show}'")
except FileNotFoundError:
print(f"Error: File '{file1}' not found.")
return None
except ValueError as e:
print(f"Error while reading the file: {e}")
return None

return dict1


def output_keys(output_file, dict1):
"""
Writes the dictionary to a file sorted by season numbers.
"""
try:
with open(output_file, 'w') as q:
for key in sorted(dict1.keys()):
shows = '; '.join(sorted(dict1[key]))
q.write(f"{key}: {shows}\n")
print(f"{key}: {shows}")
except Exception as e:
print(f"Error writing to file '{output_file}': {e}")


def output_titles(output_file, dict1):
"""
Writes all TV shows in alphabetical order to a file.
"""
try:
titles = []
for shows in dict1.values():
titles.extend(shows)

with open(output_file, 'w') as o:
for title in sorted(titles):
o.write(f"{title}\n")
print(title)
except Exception as e:
print(f"Error writing to file '{output_file}': {e}")


def main(file1):
"""
Main function to read input file, process data, and generate outputs.
"""
dict1 = read_file(file1)
if dict1 is None:
print(f"Error: Invalid file name or processing issue: {file1}")
return

# Output files
output_filename_keys = 'output_keys.txt'
output_filename_titles = 'output_titles.txt'

# Write outputs
output_keys(output_filename_keys, dict1)
output_titles(output_filename_titles, dict1)


# Get input file from user
if __name__ == "__main__":
file_name = input()
main(file_name)

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