Is Python a

Notice that the module file is called spam.py. As for all top-level files, it could also becalled simply spam, but files of code you want to import into a client have to endwith a .py suffix. We’ll study imports later in this chapter.Because you may want to import a file in the future, it’s a good idea to use .py suffixesfor most Python files that you code. Also, some text editors detect Python filesby their .py suffix; if the suffix is not present, you may not get features like syntaxcolorization and automatic indentation.Because this scheme uses shell command lines to start Python programs, all the usualshell syntax applies. For instance, you can route the output of a Python script to afile to save it for later use or inspection by using special shell syntax:% python spam.py > saveit.txtIn this case, the two output lines shown in the prior run are stored in the file saveit.txtinstead of being printed. This is generally known as stream redirection; it works forinput and output text, and it works on Windows and Unix-like systems. It also haslittle to do with Python (Python simply supports it), so we will skip further details onredirection here.If you are working on a Windows platform, this example works the same, but thesystem prompt is normally different:C:\Python25> python spam.py256the bright side of lifeAs usual, be sure to type the full path to Python if you haven’t set your PATH environmentvariable, and haven’t run a change-directory command:D:\temp> C:\python25\python spam.py256the bright side of lifeOn newer versions of Windows, you can also type just the name of your script,regardless of the directory in which you’re working. Because newer Windows systemsuse the Windows Registry to find a program with which to run a file, you don’tneed to list it on the command line explicitly. The prior command, for example,could be simplified to this on a recent version of Windows:D:\temp> spam.pyFinally, remember to give the full path to your script file if it lives in a different directoryfrom the one in which you are working. For example, the following systemcommand line, run from D:\other, assumes Python is in your system path but runs afile located elsewhere:D:\other> python c:\code\myscript.pySystem Command Lines and Files | 39