compile()

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Anonymous contributor
Published Jul 6, 2021Updated Aug 7, 2023
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Returns a runnable code object created from a string.

Syntax

compile(source, filename, mode)

Parameters

  • source: string or AST object
  • filename: The file from which the code is being read
  • mode:
    • eval: It accepts only a single expression.
    • exec: It can take a code block that has Python statements, class and functions, and so on.
    • single: It consists of a single interactive statement.
  • flags (optional) and dont_inherit (optional): Controls which future statements affect the compilation of the source. Default set to 0.
  • optimize (optional): The optimization level of the compiler. Default set to -1.

Example

Use compile() to take a code block containing a function and a statement, to return a runnable code object.

def dog():
print("Woof woof wooo!")
friend = compile('print("Who\'s a good boy?")\ndog()', 'test', 'exec')
exec(friend)

This will output:

Who's a good boy?
Woof woof wooo!

Codebyte Example

Use compile() to take a code block containing a single expression and return a runnable code object.

Code
Output
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