Simulate interactive python session

Question

How can I simulate a python interactive session using input from a file and save what would be a transcript? In other words, if I have a file sample.py:

#
# this is a python script
#
def foo(x,y):
   return x+y

a=1
b=2

c=foo(a,b)

c

I want to get sample.py.out that looks like this (python banner omitted):

>>> #
... # this is a python script
... #
... def foo(x,y):
...    return x+y
... 
>>> a=1
>>> b=2
>>> 
>>> c=foo(a,b)
>>> 
>>> c
3
>>>

I've tried feeding stdin to python, twitter's suggestions were 'bash script' with no details (played with the script command in bash, no joy). I feel it should be easy, and I'm missing something simple. Do I need to write a parser using exec or something?

Python or ipython solutions would be fine. And I might then want to convert to html and syntax highlight this in a web browser, but that's another problem....

Are you trying to save your interactive python shells's session to a file or emulate the python shell/console? — James Mills
– James Mills, Commented May 22, 2014 at 14:15
@JamesMills I think OP wants exactly opposite, a script to be converted to look like from interactive shell. — luk32
– luk32, Commented May 22, 2014 at 14:16
pythonhosted.org/sphinxcontrib-programoutput <-- This will do something like that. — James Mills
– James Mills, Commented May 22, 2014 at 14:17
yeah, slight clarification added. get input from a file, make it look like it was typed. For my example I actually cut n paste into a running python. — Spacedman
– Spacedman, Commented May 22, 2014 at 14:20
@JamesMills are you sure? As far as I can tell, that extension just runs an external command and inserts the complete output (STDOUT) into the docs. I fail to see how that would work to emulate an interactive interpreter reading and evaluating the source line by line. — Lukas Graf
– Lukas Graf, Commented May 22, 2014 at 14:23

Kos · Accepted Answer · 2016-07-22 06:00:22Z

8

I think code.interact would work:

from __future__ import print_function
import code
import fileinput


def show(input):
    lines = iter(input)

    def readline(prompt):
        try:
            command = next(lines).rstrip('\n')
        except StopIteration:
            raise EOFError()
        print(prompt, command, sep='')
        return command

    code.interact(readfunc=readline)


if __name__=="__main__":
    show(fileinput.input())

(I updated the code to use fileinput so that it reads from either stdin or sys.argv and made it run under python 2 and 3.)

edited Jul 22, 2016 at 6:00

answered May 22, 2014 at 14:29

Kos

72.7k28 gold badges174 silver badges239 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

3 Comments

Spacedman Over a year ago

Does what it says on the tin. I'm having trouble breaking it :)

Tim Over a year ago

how do I use this? is it from within the python interpreter or bash? do I enter >>> show(sample.py)

Kos Over a year ago

@Tim save the code as interact.py and the input as sample.py, then do python interact.py sample.py. It will work in py3 when you use the new syntax for print.

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

Simulate interactive python session

1 Answer 1

3 Comments

Your Answer

Linked

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

1 Answer 1

3 Comments

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest

Linked

Related