shell

To set up a local environment for running shell tests using Python 3, create a virtual environment specifying the python3 interpreter, activate it, and install the required dependencies mock==1.0.1 and nose==1.3.0.

$ virtualenv -p python3 env3
$ . env3/bin/activate
$ pip install mock==1.0.1
$ pip install nose==1.3.0

Install the shell package using pip from your terminal.

$ pip install shell

To use this library, ensure your environment meets one of the following Python version requirements:

• Python 2.6+
• Python 3.3+

To set up a local environment for running shell tests using Python 2, clone the repository, create a virtual environment, activate it, and install the required dependencies mock==1.0.1 and nose==1.3.0.

$ git clone https://github.com/toastdriven/shell
$ cd shell
$ virtualenv env
$ . env/bin/activate
$ pip install mock==1.0.1
$ pip install nose==1.3.0

For simple command execution, use the shell function. It returns a Shell instance that allows you to inspect the command's results.

from shell import shell
ls = shell('ls')
for file in ls.output():
    print file

Once the environment is configured with nose, execute the test suite using the nosetests command pointing to the tests.py file.

$ nosetests -s tests.py

You can install the shell library using pip.

pip install shell

For extensible or more controlled command execution, instantiate the Shell class and use its .run() method.

from shell import Shell
sh = Shell()
sh.run('ls')
for file in sh.output():
    print file

The shell shortcut and Shell object support method chaining for concise command execution, especially when combining input and output operations.

from shell import shell
output = shell('cat -u', has_input=True).write('Hello, world!').output()
print output

The shell function and Shell class support method chaining for concise input/output handling.

from shell import shell
# Chain write and output
output = shell('cat -u', has_input=True).write('Hello, world!').output()

For simple command execution, use the shell() shortcut function. It returns a command object that allows you to retrieve the command's output using the .output() method.

from shell import shell
ls = shell('ls')
for file in ls.output():
    print file

To send input to an interactive command, initialize the shell with has_input=True (either via the shell() function or the Shell constructor) and use the .write() method.

Note: You only get one shot at sending input; after writing, the command will finish. This is not intended for complex, multi-prompt interactive sessions.

from shell import shell
# Functional approach
sh = shell('cat -u', has_input=True)
sh.write('Hello, world!')
print sh.output()

# Class-based approach
sh = Shell(has_input=True)
sh.run('cat -u')
sh.write('Hello, world!')
print sh.output()