'If self.content is not set, load it from self.path.
This also sets self.mtime, if necessary.
This can raise an EnvironmentError if the file is not accessible.'

def loadContent(self):

    if (self.content is None):
        self.mtime = os.stat(self.path)[stat.ST_MTIME]
        fin = open(self.path, 'r')
        try:
            self.content = fin.read()
        finally:
            fin.close()
