python iterate though text file until condition is met

Question

i would like to continue iterating through the text file until the current condition inside the loop is met.

here is the sample text:

10-01   N/A
10-02   N/A
10-03   N/A
10-04   N/A
10-05   N/A
10-06   N/A
10-07   N/A
10-08   N/A
10-09   N/A
10-10   N/A
10-11   N/A
10-12   N/A
===04===...... # Skip line until '01' is found
===12===...... # Skip line until '01' is found
05-01   N/A
05-02   N/A
05-03   N/A
05-04   N/A
05-05   N/A
05-06   N/A
===08===...... # Skip line until '07' is found
===11===...... # Skip line until '07' is found
05-07   N/A
05-08   N/A
05-09   N/A
05-10   N/A
05-11   N/A
05-12   N/A

this is the while loop i am trying:

x = 1
with open(loc_path + 'SAMPLEDATA.TXT', 'rb') as textin:
    for line in textin:
        while x < 13:
            if line[3:].startswith(str(x).zfill(2)):
                print '%r' % line
            else:
                x = 1 # Restart loop
            x += 1

is there another way to accomplish this besides using a while loop if using a while loop is not correct?

thank you

Answer 1

You want to change your while x < 13 into an if-statement to conditionally stop the for-loop. E.g.,

x = 1
with open(loc_path + 'SAMPLEDATA.TXT', 'rb') as textin:
    for line in textin:
        if line[3:].startswith(str(x).zfill(2)):
            print '%r' % line
        else:
            x = 1 # Restart counter
        x += 1
        if x >= 13:
            break # Stop reading

Answer 2

You want to: only increment the counter when you find the line you're looking for, and reset it whenever it hits 13

x = 1
with open(loc_path + 'SAMPLEDATA.TXT', 'rb') as textin:
    for line in textin:
        if line[3:].startswith(str(x).zfill(2)):
            print '%r' % line
            x += 1
        if x >= 13:
            x = 1  # reset counter