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For say in terminal I did cd Desktop you should know it moves you to that directory, but how do I do that in python but with use Desktop with raw_input("") to pick my command?

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  • Are you asking how to perform shell/cmd commands via raw_input in Python? Commented Mar 8, 2016 at 5:49
  • chuck logan that is correct thank you for knowing understanding my question Commented Mar 8, 2016 at 5:51
  • Chuck Logan i checked it out there is no sign of raw_input as i see Commented Mar 8, 2016 at 5:57
  • Are you using python 2 or 3? raw_input from python 2 is now input in python 3. Commented Mar 8, 2016 at 7:00

3 Answers 3

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The following code reads your command using raw_input, and execute it using os.system()

import os

if __name__ == '__main__':
    while True:
        exec_cmd = raw_input("enter your command:")
        os.system(exec_cmd)

Best Regards, Yaron

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9 Comments

When using the code cd wont work
See the following Q&A which deals with "cd" stackoverflow.com/questions/35843054/…
When i open the file and do cd /home/pi/Desktop/asf1/dos nothing happens
As mentioned here: stackoverflow.com/questions/35843054/… - when executing this code, with "cd /home" - the directory is changed while python is running. After python process ends, you receive the original shell with the original current-directory.
Sorry about this but how would i make it not end?
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To go with your specific example, you'd do the following:

import os
if __name__ == "__main__":
    directory = raw_input("Please enter absolute path: ")
    old_dir = os.getcwd() #in case you need your old directory
    os.chdir(directory)

I've used this technique before in some directory maintenance functions I've written and it works. If you want to run shell commands more generally you'd something like:

import subprocess
if __name__ == "__main__":
    command_list = raw_input("").split(" ")
    ret = subprocess(command_list)
    #from here you can check ret if you need to

But beware with this method. The system here has no knowledge about whether it's passing a valid command, so it's likely to fail and miss exceptions. A better version might look like:

import subprocess
if __name__ == "__main__":
    command_kb = {
        "cd": True,
        "ls": True
        #etc etc
    }
    command_list = raw_input("").split(" ")
    command = command_list[0]
    if command in command_kb:
        #do some stuff here to the input depending on the
        #function being called
        pass
    else:
        print "Command not supported"
        return -1
    ret = subprocess(command_list)
    #from here you can check ret if you need to

This method represents a list of supported commands. You can then manipulate the list of args as needed to verify it's a valid command. For instance, you can check if the directory you're about to cd exists and return an error to the user if not. Or you can check if the path name is valid, but only when joined by an absolute path.

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1

maybe you can do this:

>>> import subprocess
>>> input = raw_input("") 
>>> suprocess.call(input.split()) # for detail usage, search subprocess

for details, you can search subprocess module

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2 Comments

This will throw an error in the case of input = "ls -l" as shown in the subprocess docs. You need to split the input string by the space character in order to give subprocess.call() something it can work with (a list).
@skeletalbassman, yes, thanks.