title: Error in reading .dat file in python
body: <p>I tried to read a .dat file in python using the snippet below:</p>
  
  <pre><code>old = numpy.loadtxt('C:\Users\Downloads\new.dat',delimiter=',')
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>This gives the following error:</p>
  
  <pre><code>[Errno 22] invalid mode ('U') or filename:'C:\\Users\\Downloads\new.dat'
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>However, it worked for many other .dat files. Can anyone tell me what the problem is?</p>