def input_data(f): f.readline() line = f.readline() while line.startswith('#'): line = f.readline() data = [] # now, process the data line = f.readline() while line != '': data.append(int(line.strip())) line = f.readline() return data if __name__ == '__main__': myfile = open('hopedale.dat') print input_data(myfile) myfile.close()