How can you read a file in Python?

To read a file in Python, the correct approach involves using the open() function in conjunction with the read() method. The open() function is essential for accessing a file, as it establishes a connection to the file to prepare it for reading or writing. Once the file is successfully opened, the read() method can be called on the file object returned by open() to retrieve the contents of the file.

This sequence is fundamental because open() handles both locating the file and preparing it for operations, while read() is specialized for extracting and returning the data as a string (in text mode) or bytes (in binary mode).

In contrast, simply using file.read() assumes that the file has already been opened and that a file object exists. The function call read() alone would not work unless it is being applied to a file object. Additionally, there isn't a direct read() function within the Python standard library; the read() operation must be associated with a file object created by open(). The method file.open() is also incorrect as it does not exist in Python for opening files; instead, the open() function is the standard method for this purpose.