Execute a Python script using the command line

Question

I want to know how to execute a python script using the command line. This is my code in Arithmetic.py:

def main(): 
    print 'spam' 

if __name__ == '__main__': 
    main() 

When I type

python Arithmetic.py

I get an Syntax Error on the "c"

File "ipython-input-11-0770a0dfdadd", line 1
  python Arithmetic.py

Any ideas? Thanks!

Answer 1

It looks like you're trying to type the python Arithmetic.py command into an IPython shell. Instead, make sure you're using your operating system's command prompt. (You can get out of a Python or IPython shell by typing exit().)

On Windows, the command prompt looks like this:

C:\Users\Carter>

On Linux, the command prompt looks like this:

carter@carters-computer:~$

In Mac OS X, it looks like this:

Carters-Macbook:~ csande$