def is_file_like(the_input):
    """
    Verify whether the provided input appear to provide a "file-like object". This
    term is used ubiquitously, but not all usages are identical. In this case, we
    mean that there exist callable attributes `read`, `write`, `seek`, and `tell`.

    Note that this does not check the mode (binary/string or read/write/append),
    as it is not clear that there is any generally accessible way to do so.

    Parameters
    ----------
    the_input

    Returns
    -------
    bool
    """

    out = True
    for attribute in ['read', 'write', 'seek', 'tell']:
        value = getattr(the_input, attribute, None)
        out &= callable(value)
    return out