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Contents | Previous (3.4 Modules) | Next (3.6 Design Discussion)

3.5 Main Module

This section introduces the concept of a main program or main module.

Main Functions

In many programming languages, there is a concept of a main function or method.

// c / c++
int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
    ...
}
// java
class myprog {
    public static void main(String args[]) {
        ...
    }
}

This is the first function that executes when an application is launched.

Python Main Module

Python has no main function or method. Instead, there is a main module. The main module is the source file that runs first.

bash % python3 prog.py
...

Whatever file you give to the interpreter at startup becomes main. It doesn't matter the name.

__main__ check

It is standard practice for modules that run as a main script to use this convention:

# prog.py
...
if __name__ == '__main__':
    # Running as the main program ...
    statements
    ...

Statements enclosed inside the if statement become the main program.

Main programs vs. library imports

Any Python file can either run as main or as a library import:

bash % python3 prog.py # Running as main
import prog   # Running as library import

In both cases, __name__ is the name of the module. However, it will only be set to __main__ if running as main.

Usually, you don't want statements that are part of the main program to execute on a library import. So, it's common to have an if-check in code that might be used either way.

if __name__ == '__main__':
    # Does not execute if loaded with import ...

Program Template

Here is a common program template for writing a Python program:

# prog.py
# Import statements (libraries)
import modules

# Functions
def spam():
    ...

def blah():
    ...

# Main function
def main():
    ...

if __name__ == '__main__':
    main()

Command Line Tools

Python is often used for command-line tools

bash % python3 report.py portfolio.csv prices.csv

It means that the scripts are executed from the shell / terminal. Common use cases are for automation, background tasks, etc.

Command Line Args

The command line is a list of text strings.

bash % python3 report.py portfolio.csv prices.csv

This list of text strings is found in sys.argv.

# In the previous bash command
sys.argv # ['report.py, 'portfolio.csv', 'prices.csv']

Here is a simple example of processing the arguments:

import sys

if len(sys.argv) != 3:
    raise SystemExit(f'Usage: {sys.argv[0]} ' 'portfile pricefile')
portfile = sys.argv[1]
pricefile = sys.argv[2]
...

Standard I/O

Standard Input / Output (or stdio) are files that work the same as normal files.

sys.stdout
sys.stderr
sys.stdin

By default, print is directed to sys.stdout. Input is read from sys.stdin. Tracebacks and errors are directed to sys.stderr.

Be aware that stdio could be connected to terminals, files, pipes, etc.

bash % python3 prog.py > results.txt
# or
bash % cmd1 | python3 prog.py | cmd2

Environment Variables

Environment variables are set in the shell.

bash % setenv NAME dave
bash % setenv RSH ssh
bash % python3 prog.py

os.environ is a dictionary that contains these values.

import os

name = os.environ['NAME'] # 'dave'

Changes are reflected in any subprocesses later launched by the program.

Program Exit

Program exit is handled through exceptions.

raise SystemExit
raise SystemExit(exitcode)
raise SystemExit('Informative message')

An alternative.

import sys
sys.exit(exitcode)

A non-zero exit code indicates an error.

The #! line

On Unix, the #! line can launch a script as Python. Add the following to the first line of your script file.

#!/usr/bin/env python3
# prog.py
...

It requires the executable permission.

bash % chmod +x prog.py
# Then you can execute
bash % prog.py
... output ...

Note: The Python Launcher on Windows also looks for the #! line to indicate language version.

Script Template

Finally, here is a common code template for Python programs that run as command-line scripts:

#!/usr/bin/env python3
# prog.py

# Import statements (libraries)
import modules

# Functions
def spam():
    ...

def blah():
    ...

# Main function
def main(argv):
    # Parse command line args, environment, etc.
    ...

if __name__ == '__main__':
    import sys
    main(sys.argv)

Exercises

Exercise 3.15: main() functions

In the file report.py add a main() function that accepts a list of command line options and produces the same output as before. You should be able to run it interactively like this:

>>> import report
>>> report.main(['report.py', 'Data/portfolio.csv', 'Data/prices.csv'])
      Name     Shares      Price     Change
---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
        AA        100       9.22     -22.98
       IBM         50     106.28      15.18
       CAT        150      35.46     -47.98
      MSFT        200      20.89     -30.34
        GE         95      13.48     -26.89
      MSFT         50      20.89     -44.21
       IBM        100     106.28      35.84
>>>

Modify the pcost.py file so that it has a similar main() function:

>>> import pcost
>>> pcost.main(['pcost.py', 'Data/portfolio.csv'])
Total cost: 44671.15
>>>

Exercise 3.16: Making Scripts

Modify the report.py and pcost.py programs so that they can execute as a script on the command line:

bash $ python3 report.py Data/portfolio.csv Data/prices.csv
      Name     Shares      Price     Change
---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
        AA        100       9.22     -22.98
       IBM         50     106.28      15.18
       CAT        150      35.46     -47.98
      MSFT        200      20.89     -30.34
        GE         95      13.48     -26.89
      MSFT         50      20.89     -44.21
       IBM        100     106.28      35.84

bash $ python3 pcost.py Data/portfolio.csv
Total cost: 44671.15

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