[Python-Dev] PEP397 no command line options to python?

[Nick Coghlan]

On Wed, Oct 19, 2011 at 10:17 PM, Sam Partington
<sam.partington at gmail.com> wrote:
> Ok ok, I give up.  Apparently I am the only one who wants to be able
> to run different versions of python based on the shebang line AND add
> occasional arguments to the python command line.

As a simpler alternative, I suggest the launcher just gain a "--which"
long option that displays the full path to the interpreter it found.

So:

C:\> py -2 --which
C:\Python27\python.exe

C:\> py -3 --which
C:\Python32\python.exe

No significant complexity in the launcher, and if you want to add
additional arguments like -m, -c, or -i you can do it by running
'--which' and switching to invoking that interpreter directly. "-i" in
particular is invaluable for the following scenario:
 - app crashes with exception
 - rerun with "-i"
 - at the interpreter prompt, do "import pdd; pdb.pm()"
 - poke around in the offending frame directly rather than sprinkling
print statement fairy dust around everywhere potentially relevant

And, of course, the "-m" use case has already been mentioned to invoke
modules by module name rather than file name ("python -m timeit",
anyone?)

Cheers,
Nick.

-- 
Nick Coghlan   |   ncoghlan at gmail.com   |   Brisbane, Australia