# Return the contents of the named text file
def fileContents(filename):

  # Get the file object that corresponds to the file name
  # We open it for reading as a text file. (We could also
  # open binary files using "b" instead of "t" and we could
  # open for writing, using "w" instead of "r")
  fileObject = open(filename, "rt")

  # Get the (possibly very long) text string that the file
  # contains by reading it
  contents = fileObject.read()
  #contents = fileObject.readlines()
  #contents = fileObject.readline()
  return contents