How to split a list file

[Lee Kris]

I have a huge gene blast file, It looks like
gene1 40 0.5 1 20
gene2 30 0.4 3 30
....

I want to make it like this
['gene1','40','0.5','1','20']
['gene2','30','0.4','30','20']
I am a really a python newbie,so I don't know how to make it.

After this step, I want to filter the second value, if it larger than 20, I will output it.How could I do it in Python?
I am not quite sure my thinking is right or not.
Thanks a lot!

[bvdet]

A file can be read one line at a time. Each line is read as a string. The line "gene1 40 0.5 1 20" can be split into a list with the string method split(). The second element in the list (list index 1) can then easily be evaluated for your output.

>>> line = "gene1 40 0.5 1 20\n"
>>> lineList = line.strip().split()
>>> int(lineList[1]) > 20
True
>>>