def read_file(fileName):
    """Return the lines of the file as a list. Lines that start with
    '#' and empty lines are ignored. Multiple whitespaces are removed
    from lines and lines are stripped."""
    with open(fileName, 'r') as f:
        lines = [" ".join(line.split()) for line in f]
    return list(filter(lambda l: l != '' and not l.startswith('#'), lines))