compile and run c code in python

To compile and run a C code inside a Python script, we can make use of the subprocess module in Python.

Here is an example of how it can be done

main.py
import subprocess

# Compile the C code using GCC compiler
subprocess.call(['gcc', '-o', 'output_program', 'input_program.c'])

# Run the compiled program
subprocess.call('./output_program')
191 chars
8 lines

The subprocess.call function takes a list of arguments as input. In the above example, we are passing the arguments to compile the C code using the GCC compiler and to run the compiled code.

The first argument gcc is the name of the compiler, -o is an option to specify the output file name, output_program is the name of the compiled program, and input_program.c is the name of the C code file to be compiled.

The second subprocess.call function runs the compiled program by passing the name of the compiled executable file as an argument.

Note: The subprocess module is available in Python 2 and 3, but the function names have been changed in Python 3. In Python 3, subprocess.call has been replaced with subprocess.run.

gistlibby LogSnag