0 
Python 2.7.5 (default, May 15 2013, 22:44:16) [MSC v.1500 64 bit (AMD64)] on win32
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.

Imported NumPy 1.7.1, SciPy 0.12.0, Matplotlib 1.3.0 + guidata 1.6.1, guiqwt 2.3.1
Type "scientific" for more details.
>>> runfile('C:/Program Files (x86)/Firaxis Games/Sid Meier's Pirates!/ModMan/MM.py', wdir=r'C:/Program Files (x86)/Firaxis Games/Sid Meier's Pirates!/ModMan')
  File "<stdin>", line 1
    runfile('C:/Program Files (x86)/Firaxis Games/Sid Meier's Pirates!/ModMan/MM.py', wdir=r'C:/Program Files (x86)/Firaxis Games/Sid Meier's Pirates!/ModMan')
                                                            ^
SyntaxError: invalid syntax
>>>

Running Windows 7 x64/, WinPython 275, Spyder 2.7. This is run using the spyder GUI. When the (MM.py) copy in the python folder is run it works. BTW This is point and click I'm not typing anything.

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6
  • That is some ugly directory name: Sid Meier's Pirates!. Commented Nov 3, 2013 at 18:39
  • @LutzHorn What's the problem? A clean program can handle this. Commented Nov 3, 2013 at 18:46
  • Yes, a clean program. But obviously not the tool the OP is using. Commented Nov 3, 2013 at 18:47
  • 1
    @LutzHorn Right. My point is, such directory names are not ugly, but very helpful for identifying such unclean programs. Commented Nov 3, 2013 at 18:48
  • Imported NumPy 1.7.1, SciPy 0.12.0, Matplotlib 1.3.0 + guidata 1.6.1, guiqwt 2.3.1 Type "scientific" for more details. >>> runfile('C:/WinPython-64bit-2.7.5.3/ModMan.py', wdir=r'C:/WinPython-64bit-2.7.5.3') m(od) or u(nmod) Commented Nov 4, 2013 at 19:18

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
3

Use " instead of ':

runfile("C:/Program Files (x86)/Firaxis Games/Sid Meier's Pirates!/ModMan/MM.py", wdir=r"C:/Program Files (x86)/Firaxis Games/Sid Meier's Pirates!/ModMan")

Stack Overflow is nice enough to highlight your invalid syntax for you.

If some tool (spyder GUI) executes this invalid code, go get a better tool.

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2 Comments

People I AM NOT TYPING ANYTHING. I am not quoting anything. This is the output from the spyder GUI in response to winpython runfile. It does not work in spyder OR off the command line.
I installed spyder and WinPython as a complete package. Obviously something went wrong, or it does not configure well. Downloaded from python the 2.7.5.3 64 bit package and then downloaded PyScripter. Life is good again.
1

To actually explain the problem: Strings can be enquoted within double quotes " and single quotes '. It does not make a difference which of these two you use, as long as the string starts and ends with the same symbol. So "Hello" is the same string as 'Hello'.

The string ends, as soon as the quote character appears for the second time. So in your case, 'Sid Meier's Pirates', the string already ends after Meier, making the rest of it not a string but normal Python code the interpreter tries to interpret (which will usually fail).

So to use the quotation character within the string itself, you will need to escape the quotation mark. So for single quoted strings, you can use \' and for double quoted strings \".

So in your case, you could write 'Sid Meier\'s Pirates' and it would be a valid string.

The other option would be to switch the quotation characters to double quotes. That way you would not have to escape single quotation characters within the string (but double quotation characters): "Sid Meier's Pirates".

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3 Comments

Pleaase see above comment. There is no reason to show the MM.py code as it NEVER starts. It fails to run both in spyder and on the command line. HOWEVER the exact same script placed in the python installation folder (C:\WinPython-64bit-2.7.5.3) WORKS!
Well, I have no idea what you are doing. All I can see from your Python session in the question is that you apparently tried to run runFile with a filename as its parameter; and that filename—the string—isn’t quoted correctly. Of course if you use the path C:\WinPython-64bit-2.7.5.3 it works because there are no quotation marks within the path, so the error can’t happen there.
"you apparently" implies i typed the quoted strings I did NOT. point and click with a mouse. This is windows 7 not dos. This every character every character is printed by the spyder IDE. I am assuming there are some under the hood settings in pyhton and or spyder that need to be checked or changed. I am not familiar enough with either program to know what that is. IE are there path environments that can and need to be changed in either of these? programs.

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