I want to programmatically edit python source code. Basically I want to read a .py file, generate the AST, and then write back the modified python source code (i.e. another .py file).
There are ways to parse/compile python source code using standard python modules, such as ast or compiler. However, I don"t think any of them support ways to modify the source code (e.g. delete this function declaration) and then write back the modifying python source code.
UPDATE: The reason I want to do this is I"d like to write a Mutation testing library for python, mostly by deleting statements / expressions, rerunning tests and seeing what breaks.
Parse a .py file, read the AST, modify it, then write back the modified source code __del__: Questions
How can I make a time delay in Python?
5 answers
I would like to know how to put a time delay in a Python script.
Answer #1
import time
time.sleep(5) # Delays for 5 seconds. You can also use a float value.
Here is another example where something is run approximately once a minute:
import time
while True:
print("This prints once a minute.")
time.sleep(60) # Delay for 1 minute (60 seconds).
Answer #2
You can use the sleep() function in the time module. It can take a float argument for sub-second resolution.
from time import sleep
sleep(0.1) # Time in seconds
How to delete a file or folder in Python?
5 answers
How do I delete a file or folder in Python?
Answer #1
os.remove()removes a file.os.rmdir()removes an empty directory.shutil.rmtree()deletes a directory and all its contents.
Path objects from the Python 3.4+ pathlib module also expose these instance methods:
pathlib.Path.unlink()removes a file or symbolic link.pathlib.Path.rmdir()removes an empty directory.
Parse a .py file, read the AST, modify it, then write back the modified source code __delete__: Questions
Answer #2
os.remove()removes a file.os.rmdir()removes an empty directory.shutil.rmtree()deletes a directory and all its contents.
Path objects from the Python 3.4+ pathlib module also expose these instance methods:
pathlib.Path.unlink()removes a file or symbolic link.pathlib.Path.rmdir()removes an empty directory.
Answer #3
Python syntax to delete a file
import os
os.remove("/tmp/<file_name>.txt")
Or
import os
os.unlink("/tmp/<file_name>.txt")
Or
pathlib Library for Python version >= 3.4
file_to_rem = pathlib.Path("/tmp/<file_name>.txt")
file_to_rem.unlink()
Path.unlink(missing_ok=False)
Unlink method used to remove the file or the symbolik link.
If missing_ok is false (the default), FileNotFoundError is raised if the path does not exist.
If missing_ok is true, FileNotFoundError exceptions will be ignored (same behavior as the POSIX rm -f command).
Changed in version 3.8: The missing_ok parameter was added.
Best practice
- First, check whether the file or folder exists or not then only delete that file. This can be achieved in two ways :
a.os.path.isfile("/path/to/file")
b. Useexception handling.
EXAMPLE for os.path.isfile
#!/usr/bin/python
import os
myfile="/tmp/foo.txt"
## If file exists, delete it ##
if os.path.isfile(myfile):
os.remove(myfile)
else: ## Show an error ##
print("Error: %s file not found" % myfile)
Exception Handling
#!/usr/bin/python
import os
## Get input ##
myfile= raw_input("Enter file name to delete: ")
## Try to delete the file ##
try:
os.remove(myfile)
except OSError as e: ## if failed, report it back to the user ##
print ("Error: %s - %s." % (e.filename, e.strerror))
RESPECTIVE OUTPUT
Enter file name to delete : demo.txt Error: demo.txt - No such file or directory. Enter file name to delete : rrr.txt Error: rrr.txt - Operation not permitted. Enter file name to delete : foo.txt
Python syntax to delete a folder
shutil.rmtree()
Example for shutil.rmtree()
#!/usr/bin/python
import os
import sys
import shutil
# Get directory name
mydir= raw_input("Enter directory name: ")
## Try to remove tree; if failed show an error using try...except on screen
try:
shutil.rmtree(mydir)
except OSError as e:
print ("Error: %s - %s." % (e.filename, e.strerror))
Is there a simple way to delete a list element by value?
5 answers
I want to remove a value from a list if it exists in the list (which it may not).
a = [1, 2, 3, 4]
b = a.index(6)
del a[b]
print(a)
The above case (in which it does not exist) shows the following error:
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "D:zjm_codea.py", line 6, in <module>
b = a.index(6)
ValueError: list.index(x): x not in list
So I have to do this:
a = [1, 2, 3, 4]
try:
b = a.index(6)
del a[b]
except:
pass
print(a)
But is there not a simpler way to do this?
Answer #1
To remove an element"s first occurrence in a list, simply use list.remove:
>>> a = ["a", "b", "c", "d"]
>>> a.remove("b")
>>> print(a)
["a", "c", "d"]
Mind that it does not remove all occurrences of your element. Use a list comprehension for that.
>>> a = [10, 20, 30, 40, 20, 30, 40, 20, 70, 20]
>>> a = [x for x in a if x != 20]
>>> print(a)
[10, 30, 40, 30, 40, 70]
