ni*****@hotmail.com wrote:
I am just getting started with Python, and I think I may be thinking
about it wrong. I'd like to be able to work interactively with some
code that I've got in a file. The only interpreted language I have much
experience with is Tcl/Tk, and in that I would use "source file.tcl" in
the console to load my source. Is there a similar command in python? I
know I can run my file as a script, but since I'm just experimenting
with how the language works, I want to have more flexibility to be able
to interactively check the contents of variables and define one piece
at a time. Am I missing something obvious, or am I not thinking about
Python properly?
Yes. If your code is in "mycode.py" then start up the interactive
interpreter and enter
import mycode
at the ">>>" prompt. You will now find that names you have defined in
the mycode module can be referred to as mycode.this, mycode.that and so
on, allowing you to interactively play with the features of you module.
A related technique (possibly acceptable for interactive testing but
definitely *not* recommended for production use) is
from mycode import *
which puts the names directly into the importing module's (that is to
say the interactive interpreter's) namespace and allows you to refer to
them directly as this, that, and so on.
This interactive design is one on the Python programmer's secret
weapons, as it makes it so easy to try things out and be sure you have
got your Python correct.
regards
Steve
--
Steve Holden +44 150 684 7255 +1 800 494 3119
Holden Web LLC
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