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Date: Thu, 29 May 2014 12:21:00 -0700 (PDT)
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Subject: Re: Command prompt not shown when running Python script with subprocess on Windows
From: ps16thypresenceisfullnessofjoy@gmail.com
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Xref: csiph.com comp.lang.python:72248

That's interesting, now I learned something else too. As I said before, tho=
ugh, I want users to be able to enter paths in the XML file exactly the way=
 they would be entered in a Windows shortcut.
(Actually, my program currently only has one Windows user, for whom I devel=
op it [I don't even use it myself :-0].)

Since in a Windows shortcut you don't need to put quotes around a path that=
 doesn't contain spaces, I want to follow that behavior in my program as we=
ll.

So actually, I see that the line:

<app name=3D"LibreOffice Writer">"%ProgramFiles%\LibreOffice 4\program\swri=
ter.exe" "C:\Users\Timothy\Documents\myfile.odt"</app>

should instead be:

<app name=3D"LibreOffice Writer">"%ProgramFiles%\LibreOffice 4\program\swri=
ter.exe" C:\Users\Timothy\Documents\myfile.odt</app>

because there are no spaces in the second path, but there is a space in the=
 first one.

So I guess I'll still have to do my "shlex dance" (which for some reason I =
keep on mistyping as "shlex dane" :-)) unless I can learn a better way to d=
o it.

Also, is my calling os.path.expandvars only on the first argument a good id=
ea? I want to accept environment variables in my program, but I don't want =
to call os.path.expandvars on all the arguments, because I want to let othe=
r programs take care of parsing their own arguments.

I'm just wondering if I should relook at the whole way that I am doing thin=
gs here. Maybe it would be better to just use shlex.split and subprocess.Po=
pen and not try to follow the behavior of Windows shortcuts so closely? (Bu=
t then it might be hard for some Windows users to understand how to use the=
 program if I didn't.) What do you think?