Parse a .py file, read the AST, modify it, then write back the modified source code

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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.

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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.

2973

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).

2973

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

Parse a .py file, read the AST, modify it, then write back the modified source code __del__: Questions

How to delete a file or folder in Python?

5 answers

How do I delete a file or folder in Python?

2639

Answer #1


Path objects from the Python 3.4+ pathlib module also expose these instance methods:

2639

Answer #2


Path objects from the Python 3.4+ pathlib module also expose these instance methods:

2639

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

  1. 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. Use exception 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?

1055

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]

We hope this article has helped you to resolve the problem. Apart from Parse a .py file, read the AST, modify it, then write back the modified source code, check other __del__-related topics.

Want to excel in Python? See our review of the best Python online courses 2023. If you are interested in Data Science, check also how to learn programming in R.

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Davies Wu

Boston | 2023-03-29

Thanks for explaining! I was stuck with Parse a .py file, read the AST, modify it, then write back the modified source code for some hours, finally got it done 🤗. Will use it in my bachelor thesis

Walter Innsbruck

Munchen | 2023-03-29

Thanks for explaining! I was stuck with Parse a .py file, read the AST, modify it, then write back the modified source code for some hours, finally got it done 🤗. Will use it in my bachelor thesis

Davies Innsbruck

Massachussetts | 2023-03-29

I was preparing for my coding interview, thanks for clarifying this - Parse a .py file, read the AST, modify it, then write back the modified source code in Python is not the simplest one. Will use it in my bachelor thesis

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