InteractiveShell Manual

Overview

The InteractiveShell class provides a Python interface for interacting with a local interactive shell, such as bash. It uses the pexpect library to spawn a shell process and provides methods for sending commands, reading output, and managing the shell session.

Main Usage: This module is primarily used during the testing and debugging of other modules locally by providing a way to simulate interactions with a real shell environment.

Class Definition

class InteractiveShell(consoleInterface):
    """
    Represents an interactive shell interface. 
    """
    
    def __init__(self, log:logModule=None):
        """
        Initializes an InteractiveShell by opening a pseudo-terminal.
        """
        # ... (Initialization logic) ...

    def open(self):
        """
        Starts the shell process (e.g., bash) using pexpect.
        """
        # ... (Implementation) ...

    def write(self, command):
        """Sends a command to the shell using pexpect."""
        # ... (Implementation) ...

    def read_until(self, message):
        """
        Reads output from the shell until a specific message is encountered using pexpect.
        """
        # ... (Implementation) ...

    def read_all(self):
        """Reads all available output from the shell using pexpect."""
        # ... (Implementation) ...

    def close(self):
        """Closes the shell process."""
        # ... (Implementation) ...

Initialization

To use the InteractiveShell class, create an instance of it. The constructor takes an optional log argument, which is a logModule object for logging purposes. If not provided, a default logger will be created.

Methods

• open(): Starts a new interactive shell process (e.g., bash) using pexpect.
• write(command): Sends a command to the shell.
• read_until(message): Reads output from the shell until the specified message is encountered.
• read_all(): Reads all available output from the shell.
• close(): Closes the shell session.

Example Usage

# Create an instance of the InteractiveShell class
shell = InteractiveShell()

# Start the shell
shell.open()

# Send a command
shell.write('ls -l')

# Read the output
output = shell.read_all()
print(output)

# Close the shell
shell.close()

Features

• Interactive Shell Access: Provides a way to interact with a local shell from Python.
• Command Execution: Allows sending commands to the shell and reading the output.
• Output Reading: Supports reading all output or reading until a specific message.
• Session Management: Handles opening and closing the shell session.

This manual provides a basic understanding of the InteractiveShell class and its usage. For more detailed information and advanced use cases, refer to the code documentation and examples.