Thanks all, adding the 'rb' and 'wb' solved that test case. The reason I read the file "the hard way" is that I'm testing why I cannot unzip a buffer passed in a file upload using django.
While not actually using a file, pointing out the need for the binary option gave me the clue I needed to upload the file All is good and moving on to the next crisis ;) Fred. -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list