The Python Command Line (CLI)

Overview

• You can use any Python command from the interactive Python command line:

>>> print 4**2
16
>>> a = 'blue'
>>> print a
blue
>>>

• Everything works in exactly the same way as it would in a program.
• You can define code blocks by writing extra lines:

>>> for i in range(3):
…
print i
…
0
1
2
>>>

Tips

• You can leave the command line by Ctrl-Z (Windows) or Ctrl-D (Linux).
• The CLI works great as a pocket calculator.
• Writing code blocks with 2+ lines in the CLI gets painful quickly.
• From IDLE, you can execute a program in the command line by pressing F5.

More Info

An enhanced CLI with syntax highlighting and tab expansion is provided by the Ipython package (Windows/Linux/Mac) – http://ipython.scipy.org.