Python: cadenas como archivos

Al leer un archivo, se lee como un diccionario con múltiples elementos. Entonces, podemos acceder a cada línea del archivo usando el índice del elemento. En el siguiente ejemplo, tenemos un archivo que tiene varias líneas y esas líneas se convierten en elementos individuales del archivo.

with open ("Path\GodFather.txt", "r") as BigFile:
    data=BigFile.readlines()
# Print each line
	for i in range(len(data)):
    print "Line No- ",i 
    print data[i]

Cuando ejecutamos el programa anterior, obtenemos el siguiente resultado:

Line No-  0
Vito Corleone is the aging don (head) of the Corleone Mafia Family. 
Line No-  1
His youngest son Michael has returned from WWII just in time to see the wedding of Connie Corleone (Michael's sister) to Carlo Rizzi. 
Line No-  2
All of Michael's family is involved with the Mafia, but Michael just wants to live a normal life. Drug dealer Virgil Sollozzo is looking for Mafia families to offer him protection in exchange for a profit of the drug money. 
Line No-  3
He approaches Don Corleone about it, but, much against the advice of the Don's lawyer Tom Hagen, the Don is morally against the use of drugs, and turns down the offer.
Line No-  4
This does not please Sollozzo, who has the Don shot down by some of his hit men. 
Line No-  5
The Don barely survives, which leads his son Michael to begin a violent mob war against Sollozzo and tears the Corleone family apart.

Archivo como una cadena

Pero todo el contenido del archivo se puede leer como una sola cadena eliminando el carácter de nueva línea y usando la función de lectura como se muestra a continuación. En el resultado no hay varias líneas.

with open("Path\GodFather.txt", 'r') as BigFile:
    data=BigFile.read().replace('\n', '')
	
# Verify the string type 
	print type(data)
	
# Print the file content
    print data

Cuando ejecutamos el programa anterior, obtenemos el siguiente resultado:

        Vito Corleone is the aging don (head) of the Corleone Mafia Family. His youngest son Michael has returned from WWII just in time to see the wedding of Connie Corleone (Michael's sister) to Carlo Rizzi. All of Michael's family is involved with the Mafia, but Michael just wants to live a normal life. Drug dealer Virgil Sollozzo is looking for Mafia families to offer him protection in exchange for a profit of the drug money. He approaches Don Corleone about it, but, much against the advice of the Don's lawyer Tom Hagen, the Don is morally against the use of drugs, and turns down the offer.This does not please Sollozzo, who has the Don shot down by some of his hit men. The Don barely survives, which leads his son Michael to begin a violent mob war against Sollozzo and tears the Corleone family apart.