[Python-ideas] A better interactive prompt

[Nikolaus Rath]

On Oct 26 2016, Paul Moore <p.f.moore-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w at public.gmane.org> wrote:
> Thinking a little further about this, I think the reason I don't use
> IPython more, is because my muscle memory types "python" (or more
> often, "py") when I want an interactive prompt. And I do that for the
> reason you mention - it's always there.
>
> The downside, of course, is that the default behaviour is inconsistent
> - new users could attend a course where IPython was preinstalled, but
> then struggle when back at the office because no-one told them how to
> set it up.

It also imposes a significant burden on scripting. I often have elements
like this in shell scripts:

output=$(python <<EOF
import h5py
with h5py.File('foo', 'r') as fh:
     print((fh['bla'] * fh['com']).sum())
EOF
)

If this now starts up IPython, it'll be *significantly* slower.

Yes, I could factor this out in a separate .py file, but it's much
easier to understand when embedded directly into the relevant context.

Best,
-Nikolaus

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