Using "subprocess" without lists. . .?

[Michael Williams]

Hi All,

I've recently seen the "subprocess" module and am rather confused by  
it's requirements.  Is it not possible to execute an entire string  
without having to break them up into a list of arguments?  For  
instance, I'd much rather do the following:


subprocess.call("ls -al | grep -i test")


. . .than to have to:


list = ["ls", "-a", "-l" ]  . . . . . . and so on and so forth.
subprocess.call(list. . .)


What is the best way to go about executing a massively complex single  
line command?


Thanks,
Michael