Newbie edit/compile/run cycle question

[Jeremy C B Nicoll]

Steve Howell <showell30 at yahoo.com> wrote:

> 
> --- Jeremy C B Nicoll <jeremy at omba.demon.co.uk> wrote:
> 
> > Steve Howell <showell30 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> >  
> > > --- Jeremy C B Nicoll <jeremy at omba.demon.co.uk>
> > wrote:
> > 
> > > > What command (in XP) does one need to issue to syntax check a saved
> > > > python script without running it?
> > > 
> > > Perhaps oversimplifying a bit, running "python" does a syntax check,
> > > and if it passes, moves on the next steps of interpretation/execution.
> > 
> > Ah, I've been using IDLE so far (but would probably prefer to write
> > Python in my normal text editor).  In IDLE Alt-X syntax checks the saved
> > copy of the file being edited (at least it seems to), and I was
> > wondering how to replicate that elsewhere.
> 
> What's your normal text editor?  You might want try googling to see if it
> has a Python mode.  Also, look into seeing if it has a way to
> automatically invoke external programs.

Mansfield Software's Kedit, but that's not the problem.  

You said that running python does a syntax check and then goes on to run the
program. I would want to replicate IDLE's check process which syntax checks
a program and then, even if it is ok, doesn't go on to run it.

I see nothing on the python.exe CLI options that offers that.  

The only way I can think of doing it is to copy the file to be
syntax-checked to a temporary file (presumably in the same directory though,
or search paths won't be right) and append a line with a guaranteed syntax
error in it, then ask python to 'execute' the dummy file.  If the original
file was ok then it will fail the syntax check on the final deliberate-error
line, whereas, obviously any other syntax error is a genuine one.  But that
seems a crazy way to go about things.


-- 
Jeremy C B Nicoll - my opinions are my own.