Running scripts whose purpose is to change shell variables with subprocess.popen

Question

I have a series of scripts I am automating the calling of in python with subprocess.Popen. Basically, I call script A, then script B, then script C and so forth.

Script A sets a bunch of local shell variables, with commands such as set SOME_VARIABLE=SCRIPT_A, set PATH=%SCRIPT_A:/=\;%PATH%.

Script B and C then need to have the effects of this. In unix, you would call script A with "source script_a.sh". The effect lasts in the current command window. However, subprocess.Popen effectively launches a new window (kind of).

Apparently subprocess.Popen is not the command I want to do this. How would I do it?

edit I have tried parsing the file (which is all 'set' statements) and passing them as a dictionary to 'env' in subprocess.Popen, but it doesn't seem to have all worked..

Similar: How do I make environment variable changes stick in Python?, Can a python script persistently change a Windows environment variable? (elegantly) — Piotr Dobrogost
– Piotr Dobrogost, Commented Sep 19, 2011 at 21:15

Ross Patterson · Accepted Answer · 2011-08-22 19:08:14Z

0

You can use the env argument to Popen with a python dictionary containing the variables then you don't need to run the command that just sets variables.

answered Aug 22, 2011 at 19:08

Ross Patterson

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3 Comments

Chris Over a year ago

But this file changes every so often, and I don't want to update my python script with this every time. Wouldn't I have to do that?

Nicola Musatti Over a year ago

Either that or you write an interpreter in Python for the minimal shell command subset that would allow you to set your variables.

Chris Over a year ago

No fun... Is there an alternative to subprocess.Popen that preserves the current command window?

tMC · Accepted Answer · 2011-08-22 20:43:06Z

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if 'script A' get generated by another process, you will either need to change the other process so the output file is in a format that you can source (import) into your python script. or write a parser in python that can digest the vars out of 'Script A' setting them within your python script.

answered Aug 22, 2011 at 20:43

tMC

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Comments

Piotr Dobrogost · Accepted Answer · 2011-09-19 21:25:29Z

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If all you want is to call a series of batch files using Python you could create a helper batch file which would call all these batch files like this

call scriptA;
call scriptB;
call scriptC;

and run this helper batch file using subprocess.Popen

answered Sep 19, 2011 at 21:25

Piotr Dobrogost

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