Simple example on Importing Modules to make code independent of OS platform Feel free to use t...

[G+_Russ DiBennetto]

Simple example on Importing Modules to make code independent of OS platform.   Feel free to use this example on the show.

#-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

# Name:        module1

# Purpose:

#

# Author:      rdibened

#

# Created:     04/02/2014

# Copyright:   © rdibened 2014

# Licence:    

#-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

import os

import platform

import sys

 

def main():

    pass

 

if _name_ == '__main__':

    main()

    if(platform.system() == 'Linux'):

        os.system('ls')

    if (platform.system() == 'Windows' ):

        os.system('dir')

    key=raw_input("Depress enter to exit")

[G+_Lee Crocker]

Better than detecting the OS and doing different things, is to use the language's library functions to do things portably. In this case, is.readdir() fetches a directory list that you can then print, and doesn't require platform. You should never import platform unless you have failed to find a portable function in some other library.

[G+_Darryl Medley]

What's the purpose of the empty main() function? Is it just a placeholder for initialization code?

[G+_Russ DiBennetto]

Lee Crocker

Interesting, like I said, I have been programming in Python for only a few months.  Something I might look into in the future.  Right now for me trying to learn Python, I try not to complicate my command set, (too much to remember).  I wanted to also put up a simple example for the show.

[G+_Russ DiBennetto]

Darryl Medley I use Pyscripter to develop my Python programs on a Windows platform. Pytscripter is a free IDE.  When you start a new module it automatically puts that code in there.  It is superfluous but most of the time I just leave it in there.

 

[G+_Darryl Medley]

I didn't know about Pyscripter. Thanks for the info. What advantages does it have over IDLE?

[G+_Jon Melbo]

OP is a bit old but I'll comment anyway... one advantage is that it does not force you to save your source code before  you can run it.  I think that is a valuable feature.  I may not want to save the source if something I just added doesn't work right.

 

Another advantage is a nicely organized visual interface.  IDLE makes you jumble separate windows to the foreground as you wish to see them.