How to run shell commands within python

fileexit

How can I execute shell commands from within python. Specifically, I
am looking for something like the shell "cat". But this also made me
wonder how to execute shell commands anyway, just if i needed to do
that in the future.

Feb 16 '06 #1

Juho Schultz

fileexit wrote:

How can I execute shell commands from within python. Specifically, I
am looking for something like the shell "cat". But this also made me
wonder how to execute shell commands anyway, just if i needed to do
that in the future.

You can use os.system() for that.

Feb 16 '06 #2

fileexit

thanks... i was to hasty to post this question, i found a good answer
here:
http://groups.google.com/group/comp....dab847125f81b6

Feb 16 '06 #3

limodou

On 15 Feb 2006 23:21:09 -0800, fileexit <ma*****@gmail.com> wrote:

How can I execute shell commands from within python. Specifically, I
am looking for something like the shell "cat". But this also made me
wonder how to execute shell commands anyway, just if i needed to do
that in the future.

You can use os.system() or os.popen(), etc.
--
I like python!
My Blog: http://www.donews.net/limodou
NewEdit Maillist: http://groups.google.com/group/NewEdit

Feb 16 '06 #4

Fredrik Lundh

"fileexit" wrote:

thanks... i was to hasty to post this question, i found a good answer
here:
http://groups.google.com/group/comp....dab847125f81b6

that's an old thread, and Python has grown a few more ways to
deal with shell commands since then. if os.system isn't good en-
ough for you, subprocess is the preferred alternative:

http://www.python.org/doc/lib/module-subprocess.html

(also note that most trivial shell commands are better done in
python. most uses of cat, for example, can be trivially emulated
with one or two lines of python...)

</F>

Feb 16 '06 #5

Szabolcs Nagy

use subprocess module

from subprocess import call
call(['cmd', 'arg1', 'arg2'], stdin='...', stdout='...')
eg:
call(['ls', '-l'])

Feb 16 '06 #6

Donn Cave

In article <ma***************************************@python. org>,
"Fredrik Lundh" <fr*****@pythonware.com> wrote:

(also note that most trivial shell commands are better done in
python. most uses of cat, for example, can be trivially emulated
with one or two lines of python...)

Though the knowledge required to do this may be more trivial
for some of us than others! "cat" probably doesn't have much
going for it that a naive implementation would miss - some
versions will recreate "holes", but most applications will never
miss this. You can replace "mv" with os.rename() if you don't
care that it will fail when the destination is on a different
filesystem. Etc.

Donn Cave, do**@u.washington.edu

Feb 16 '06 #7

Marc 'BlackJack' Rintsch

In <do************************@gnus01.u.washington.ed u>, Donn Cave wrote:

You can replace "mv" with os.rename() if you don't
care that it will fail when the destination is on a different
filesystem. Etc.

If you care than use `shutil.move()` instead.

Ciao,
Marc 'BlackJack' Rintsch

Feb 17 '06 #8