obtain the output of an external program

[Edvard Majakari]

Fernando Rodriguez <frr at easyjob.net> writes:

> How can I save the output of an external program, called with os.system()?

Are you sure you need to use os.system? 


Python Library Documentation: module commands

NAME
    commands - Execute shell commands via os.popen() and return status, output.

FILE
    /usr/lib/python2.2/commands.py

DESCRIPTION
    Interface summary:
    
           import commands
    
           outtext = commands.getoutput(cmd)
           (exitstatus, outtext) = commands.getstatusoutput(cmd)
           outtext = commands.getstatus(file)  # returns output of "ls -ld file"
    
    A trailing newline is removed from the output string.
    
    Encapsulates the basic operation:
    
          pipe = os.popen('{ ' + cmd + '; } 2>&1', 'r')
          text = pipe.read()
          sts = pipe.close()
    
     [Note:  it would be nice to add functions to interpret the exit status.]


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# Edvard Majakari		Software Engineer
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