How to use the -c flag in python

Question

I noticed in the python doc that there is a -c flag. Here is what python doc says:

Execute the Python code in command. comma

Answer 1

Just pass regular Python code as the argument to the flag:

python -c 'print 1
print 2'

Import modules works, and blank lines are OK, too:

python -c '
import pprint
pprint.pprint(1)
'

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When using this feature, just be mindful of shell quoting (and indentation), and keep in mind that if you're using this outside of a few shell scripts, you might be doing it wrong.

Answer 2

Easiest example

python -c "print 'example'"

It is useful whenever your program has a single line of code, for example, list comprehensions, etc.

Another example can be

python -c "a='example';print a"

As you can see, multiple statements are separated by ;