Issue #16115: Backport subprocess.Popen() documentation improvements from 3.2.

This commit is contained in:
Chris Jerdonek 2012-10-10 17:55:41 -07:00
parent cfb01a5ad0
commit 2a6672b100
1 changed files with 24 additions and 17 deletions

View File

@ -269,19 +269,26 @@ are able to handle the less common cases not covered by the convenience
functions.
.. class:: Popen(args, bufsize=0, executable=None, stdin=None, stdout=None, stderr=None, preexec_fn=None, close_fds=False, shell=False, cwd=None, env=None, universal_newlines=False, startupinfo=None, creationflags=0)
.. class:: Popen(args, bufsize=0, executable=None, stdin=None, stdout=None, \
stderr=None, preexec_fn=None, close_fds=False, shell=False, \
cwd=None, env=None, universal_newlines=False, \
startupinfo=None, creationflags=0)
Arguments are:
Execute a child program in a new process. On Unix, the class uses
:meth:`os.execvp`-like behavior to execute the child program. On Windows,
the class uses the Windows ``CreateProcess()`` function. The arguments to
:class:`Popen` are as follows.
*args* should be a sequence of program arguments or else a single string.
By default, the program to execute is the first item in *args* if *args* is
a sequence and the string itself if *args* is a string. However, see the
*shell* and *executable* arguments for differences from this behavior.
a sequence. If *args* is a string, the interpretation is
platform-dependent and described below. See the *shell* and *executable*
arguments for additional differences from the default behavior. Unless
otherwise stated, it is recommended to pass *args* as a sequence.
On Unix, the :class:`Popen` class uses :meth:`os.execvp`-like behavior to
execute the child program. If *args* is a string, the string is
interpreted as the name or path of the program to execute; this only works
if the program is being given no arguments.
On Unix, if *args* is a string, the string is interpreted as the name or
path of the program to execute. However, this can only be done if not
passing arguments to the program.
.. note::
@ -302,14 +309,13 @@ functions.
used in the shell (such as filenames containing spaces or the *echo* command
shown above) are single list elements.
On Windows, the :class:`Popen` class uses ``CreateProcess()`` to
execute the child program, which operates on strings. If *args* is a
sequence, it will be converted to a string in a manner described in
:ref:`converting-argument-sequence`.
On Windows, if *args* is a sequence, it will be converted to a string in a
manner described in :ref:`converting-argument-sequence`. This is because
the underlying ``CreateProcess()`` operates on strings.
The *shell* argument (which defaults to *False*) specifies whether to use
the shell as the program to execute. It is recommended to pass *args* as a
sequence if *shell* is *False* and as a string if *shell* is *True*.
the shell as the program to execute. If *shell* is *True*, it is
recommended to pass *args* as a string rather than as a sequence.
On Unix with ``shell=True``, the shell defaults to :file:`/bin/sh`. If
*args* is a string, the string specifies the command
@ -342,9 +348,10 @@ functions.
The *executable* argument specifies a replacement program to execute. It
is very seldom needed. When ``shell=False``, *executable* replaces the
program to execute specified by *args*. However, the *args* program is
still treated by most programs as the command name, which can then be
different from the program actually executed. On Unix, the *args* name
program to execute specified by *args*. However, the original *args* is
still passed to the program. Most programs treat the program specified
by *args* as the command name, which can then be different from the program
actually executed. On Unix, the *args* name
becomes the display name for the executable in utilities such as
:program:`ps`. If ``shell=True``, on Unix the *executable* argument
specifies a replacement shell for the default :file:`/bin/sh`.