code: def read(path):
      
      # This function implementation was chosen to be compatible across Python 2/3.
      f = open(path, 'rb')
      # We avoid use of the with keyword for Python 2.4 support.
      try:
          b = f.read()
      finally:
          f.close()
  
      return b.decode(FILE_ENCODING)
docs: Read and return the contents of a text file as a unicode string.