def read_restrictions_file(file):
  """
  <Purpose>
    Reads in the contents of a restrictions file.
    
  <Arguments>
    file: name/path of the file to open
  
  <Returns>
    A list, where each element is a line in the file  
  """
  # Get the file object, read mode with universal newlines
  fileo = open(file,"rU")
  
  # Read in all the contents
  contents = fileo.readlines()
  
  # Close the file object
  fileo.close()
  
  return contents