exec considered harmful

[Harald Kirsch]

"Nick Perkins" <nperkins7 at home.com> writes:

> why exec(), when you can import?
[snip]
>   I have done a fair bit of Python, and *never* used exec() or eval() )

You missed an interesting part and useful application of script
langugages, namely the use of little languages intended for
non-programmers to do some simple tasks. The basic syntax of the
little language is python (in our case), but they are supposed only to
know about a handful of functions you prepared for them. Because you
don't want to require them to write

  import TheContrievedLittleLanguageForTheNonProgrammer

in their files, you have to exec() them within a namespace where the
handful of functions you prepared is defined.

Hmm, but maybe there is a way to do that with import?

  Harald.

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Harald Kirsch   | kirschh at lionbioscience.com | "How old is the epsilon?"
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