how to input variable into a python script while opening from cmd prompt?

Question

I am wondering how would one get variables inputted in a python script while opening from cmd prompt? I know using c one would do something like:

int main( int argc, char **argv ) {
    int input1 = argv[ 0 ]
    int input2 = argv[ 1 ]

.....

}

how can I achieve the same kind of result in python?

Answer 1

import sys

def main():
   input1 = sys.argv[1]
   input2 = sys.argv[2]
...

if __name__ == "__main__":
   main()

Answer 2

The arguments are in sys.argv, the first one sys.argv[0] is the script name.

For more complicated argument parsing you should use argparse (for python >= 2.7). Previous modules for that purpose were getopts and optparse.

Answer 3

There are two options.

1. import sys.argv and use that.
2. Use getopts

See also: Dive into Python and PMotW