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:mod:`py_compile` --- Compile Python source files
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=================================================
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:synopsis: Generate byte-code files from Python source files.
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.. sectionauthor:: Fred L. Drake, Jr. <fdrake@acm.org>
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.. documentation based on module docstrings
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.. index:: pair: file; byte-code
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**Source code:** :source:`Lib/py_compile.py`
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The :mod:`py_compile` module provides a function to generate a byte-code file
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from a source file, and another function used when the module source file is
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Though not often needed, this function can be useful when installing modules for
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shared use, especially if some of the users may not have permission to write the
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byte-code cache files in the directory containing the source code.
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.. exception:: PyCompileError
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Exception raised when an error occurs while attempting to compile the file.
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.. function:: compile(file[, cfile[, dfile[, doraise]]])
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Compile a source file to byte-code and write out the byte-code cache file. The
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source code is loaded from the file name *file*. The byte-code is written to
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*cfile*, which defaults to *file* ``+`` ``'c'`` (``'o'`` if optimization is
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enabled in the current interpreter). If *dfile* is specified, it is used as the
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name of the source file in error messages instead of *file*. If *doraise* is
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true, a :exc:`PyCompileError` is raised when an error is encountered while
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compiling *file*. If *doraise* is false (the default), an error string is
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written to ``sys.stderr``, but no exception is raised.
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.. function:: main([args])
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Compile several source files. The files named in *args* (or on the command
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line, if *args* is not specified) are compiled and the resulting bytecode is
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cached in the normal manner. This function does not search a directory
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structure to locate source files; it only compiles files named explicitly.
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If ``'-'`` is the only parameter in args, the list of files is taken from
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.. versionchanged:: 2.7
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Added support for ``'-'``.
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When this module is run as a script, the :func:`main` is used to compile all the
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files named on the command line. The exit status is nonzero if one of the files
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could not be compiled.
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.. versionchanged:: 2.6
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Added the nonzero exit status when module is run as a script.
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Module :mod:`compileall`
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Utilities to compile all Python source files in a directory tree.