subprocess chokes on spaces in path

[Thorsten Kampe]

* BartlebyScrivener (Tue, 06 Nov 2007 20:32:33 -0000)

Using bash on Debian Etch.

If word_doc = sys.argv[1] and it's a file name like My\ Word.doc this
function reads My and Word as two separate files unless the second
'%s' is quoted. Took me a lot of trial and error to discover. Is this
the most elegant way to do it? I was using popen originally, then saw
some threads suggesting subprocess cured the spaces in path problem.

def get_MSWordDoc_text(word_doc):
"""Harvests text from an MSWord doc using antiword."""
antiword = "/usr/bin/antiword"

# Note the extra single quotes around the second '%s'
# without these quotes, bash chokes on paths with spaces in them
# says can't open My ; can't open Word

If bash has problems with spaces then the obvious thing to do is not
to use bash, right?!

Thorsten

 

[BartlebyScrivener]

Using bash on Debian Etch.

If word_doc = sys.argv[1] and it's a file name like My\ Word.doc this
function reads My and Word as two separate files unless the second
'%s' is quoted. Took me a lot of trial and error to discover. Is this
the most elegant way to do it? I was using popen originally, then saw
some threads suggesting subprocess cured the spaces in path problem.

def get_MSWordDoc_text(word_doc):
"""Harvests text from an MSWord doc using antiword."""
antiword = "/usr/bin/antiword"

# Note the extra single quotes around the second '%s'
# without these quotes, bash chokes on paths with spaces in them
# says can't open My ; can't open Word
# using new subprocess module, the extra '%s' shouldn't be
necessary?
# but I could not get to work
# see Beazley 2nd Ed. page 340

p = subprocess.Popen("%s '%s'" % (antiword, word_doc), shell=True,
stdout=subprocess.PIPE)
doc_text = p.stdout.read()
return doc_text

thx,

rd

 

[Gabriel Genellina]

En Tue, 06 Nov 2007 17:32:33 -0300, BartlebyScrivener

Using bash on Debian Etch.

If word_doc = sys.argv[1] and it's a file name like My\ Word.doc this
function reads My and Word as two separate files unless the second
'%s' is quoted. Took me a lot of trial and error to discover. Is this
the most elegant way to do it? I was using popen originally, then saw
some threads suggesting subprocess cured the spaces in path problem.

Use a list of arguments [antiword, word_doc] and let subprocess handle the
spaces the right way.

 

[BartlebyScrivener]

Use a list of arguments [antiword, word_doc] and let subprocess handle the
spaces the right way.

Got it working. Thank you both.

p = subprocess.Popen([antiword, word_doc], stdout=subprocess.PIPE)
doc_text = p.stdout.read()

rd