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Top-level components — Python 2.7.5 documentation</title> <link rel="stylesheet" href="../_static/default.css" type="text/css" /> <link rel="stylesheet" href="../_static/pygments.css" type="text/css" /> <script type="text/javascript"> var DOCUMENTATION_OPTIONS = { URL_ROOT: '../', VERSION: '2.7.5', COLLAPSE_INDEX: false, FILE_SUFFIX: '.html', HAS_SOURCE: true }; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="../_static/jquery.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="../_static/underscore.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="../_static/doctools.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="../_static/sidebar.js"></script> <link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" title="Search within Python 2.7.5 documentation" href="../_static/opensearch.xml"/> <link rel="author" title="About these documents" href="../about.html" /> <link rel="copyright" title="Copyright" href="../copyright.html" /> <link rel="top" title="Python 2.7.5 documentation" href="../index.html" /> <link rel="up" title="The Python Language Reference" href="index.html" /> <link rel="next" title="9. Full Grammar specification" href="grammar.html" /> <link rel="prev" title="7. Compound statements" href="compound_stmts.html" /> <link rel="shortcut icon" type="image/png" href="../_static/py.png" /> <script type="text/javascript" src="../_static/copybutton.js"></script> </head> <body> <div class="related"> <h3>Navigation</h3> <ul> <li class="right" style="margin-right: 10px"> <a href="../genindex.html" title="General Index" accesskey="I">index</a></li> <li class="right" > <a href="../py-modindex.html" title="Python Module Index" >modules</a> |</li> <li class="right" > <a href="grammar.html" title="9. Full Grammar specification" accesskey="N">next</a> |</li> <li class="right" > <a href="compound_stmts.html" title="7. Compound statements" accesskey="P">previous</a> |</li> <li><img src="../_static/py.png" alt="" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-top: -1px"/></li> <li><a href="http://www.python.org/">Python</a> »</li> <li> <a href="../index.html">Python 2.7.5 documentation</a> » </li> <li><a href="index.html" accesskey="U">The Python Language Reference</a> »</li> </ul> </div> <div class="document"> <div class="documentwrapper"> <div class="bodywrapper"> <div class="body"> <div class="section" id="top-level-components"> <span id="top-level"></span><h1>8. Top-level components<a class="headerlink" href="#top-level-components" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h1> <p id="index-0">The Python interpreter can get its input from a number of sources: from a script passed to it as standard input or as program argument, typed in interactively, from a module source file, etc. This chapter gives the syntax used in these cases.</p> <div class="section" id="complete-python-programs"> <span id="programs"></span><h2>8.1. Complete Python programs<a class="headerlink" href="#complete-python-programs" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h2> <span class="target" id="index-1"></span><p id="index-2">While a language specification need not prescribe how the language interpreter is invoked, it is useful to have a notion of a complete Python program. A complete Python program is executed in a minimally initialized environment: all built-in and standard modules are available, but none have been initialized, except for <a class="reference internal" href="../library/sys.html#module-sys" title="sys: Access system-specific parameters and functions."><tt class="xref py py-mod docutils literal"><span class="pre">sys</span></tt></a> (various system services), <a class="reference internal" href="../library/__builtin__.html#module-__builtin__" title="__builtin__: The module that provides the built-in namespace."><tt class="xref py py-mod docutils literal"><span class="pre">__builtin__</span></tt></a> (built-in functions, exceptions and <tt class="docutils literal"><span class="pre">None</span></tt>) and <a class="reference internal" href="../library/__main__.html#module-__main__" title="__main__: The environment where the top-level script is run."><tt class="xref py py-mod docutils literal"><span class="pre">__main__</span></tt></a>. The latter is used to provide the local and global namespace for execution of the complete program.</p> <p>The syntax for a complete Python program is that for file input, described in the next section.</p> <p id="index-3">The interpreter may also be invoked in interactive mode; in this case, it does not read and execute a complete program but reads and executes one statement (possibly compound) at a time. The initial environment is identical to that of a complete program; each statement is executed in the namespace of <a class="reference internal" href="../library/__main__.html#module-__main__" title="__main__: The environment where the top-level script is run."><tt class="xref py py-mod docutils literal"><span class="pre">__main__</span></tt></a>.</p> <p id="index-4">Under Unix, a complete program can be passed to the interpreter in three forms: with the <a class="reference internal" href="../using/cmdline.html#cmdoption-c"><em class="xref std std-option">-c</em></a> <em>string</em> command line option, as a file passed as the first command line argument, or as standard input. If the file or standard input is a tty device, the interpreter enters interactive mode; otherwise, it executes the file as a complete program.</p> </div> <div class="section" id="file-input"> <span id="id1"></span><h2>8.2. File input<a class="headerlink" href="#file-input" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h2> <p>All input read from non-interactive files has the same form:</p> <pre> <strong id="grammar-token-file_input">file_input</strong> ::= (NEWLINE | <a class="reference internal" href="compound_stmts.html#grammar-token-statement"><tt class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">statement</span></tt></a>)* </pre> <p>This syntax is used in the following situations:</p> <ul class="simple"> <li>when parsing a complete Python program (from a file or from a string);</li> <li>when parsing a module;</li> <li>when parsing a string passed to the <a class="reference internal" href="simple_stmts.html#exec"><tt class="xref std std-keyword docutils literal"><span class="pre">exec</span></tt></a> statement;</li> </ul> </div> <div class="section" id="interactive-input"> <span id="interactive"></span><h2>8.3. Interactive input<a class="headerlink" href="#interactive-input" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h2> <p>Input in interactive mode is parsed using the following grammar:</p> <pre> <strong id="grammar-token-interactive_input">interactive_input</strong> ::= [<a class="reference internal" href="compound_stmts.html#grammar-token-stmt_list"><tt class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">stmt_list</span></tt></a>] NEWLINE | <a class="reference internal" href="compound_stmts.html#grammar-token-compound_stmt"><tt class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">compound_stmt</span></tt></a> NEWLINE </pre> <p>Note that a (top-level) compound statement must be followed by a blank line in interactive mode; this is needed to help the parser detect the end of the input.</p> </div> <div class="section" id="expression-input"> <span id="id2"></span><h2>8.4. Expression input<a class="headerlink" href="#expression-input" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h2> <span class="target" id="index-5"></span><p id="index-6">There are two forms of expression input. Both ignore leading whitespace. The string argument to <a class="reference internal" href="../library/functions.html#eval" title="eval"><tt class="xref py py-func docutils literal"><span class="pre">eval()</span></tt></a> must have the following form:</p> <pre> <strong id="grammar-token-eval_input">eval_input</strong> ::= <a class="reference internal" href="expressions.html#grammar-token-expression_list"><tt class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">expression_list</span></tt></a> NEWLINE* </pre> <p id="index-7">The input line read by <a class="reference internal" href="../library/functions.html#input" title="input"><tt class="xref py py-func docutils literal"><span class="pre">input()</span></tt></a> must have the following form:</p> <pre> <strong id="grammar-token-input_input">input_input</strong> ::= <a class="reference internal" href="expressions.html#grammar-token-expression_list"><tt class="xref docutils literal"><span class="pre">expression_list</span></tt></a> NEWLINE </pre> <p id="index-8">Note: to read ‘raw’ input line without interpretation, you can use the built-in function <a class="reference internal" href="../library/functions.html#raw_input" title="raw_input"><tt class="xref py py-func docutils literal"><span class="pre">raw_input()</span></tt></a> or the <a class="reference internal" href="../library/readline.html#module-readline" title="readline: GNU readline support for Python. (Unix)"><tt class="xref py py-meth docutils literal"><span class="pre">readline()</span></tt></a> method of file objects.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="sphinxsidebar"> <div class="sphinxsidebarwrapper"> <h3><a href="../contents.html">Table Of Contents</a></h3> <ul> <li><a class="reference internal" href="#">8. Top-level components</a><ul> <li><a class="reference internal" href="#complete-python-programs">8.1. Complete Python programs</a></li> <li><a class="reference internal" href="#file-input">8.2. File input</a></li> <li><a class="reference internal" href="#interactive-input">8.3. Interactive input</a></li> <li><a class="reference internal" href="#expression-input">8.4. Expression input</a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> <h4>Previous topic</h4> <p class="topless"><a href="compound_stmts.html" title="previous chapter">7. Compound statements</a></p> <h4>Next topic</h4> <p class="topless"><a href="grammar.html" title="next chapter">9. 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