def __getFileObj(self, f):
        """Safety handler to verify file-like objects"""
        if not f:
            raise ShapefileException("No file-like object available.")
        elif hasattr(f, "write"):
            return f
        else:
            pth = os.path.split(f)[0]
            if pth and not os.path.exists(pth):
                os.makedirs(pth)
            return open(f, "wb+")
Safety handler to verify file-like objects