Shell Programming in Python

Snake Shell

© Lead Image © Nelli Valova, 123RF.com

© Lead Image © Nelli Valova, 123RF.com

Article from Issue 267/2023
Author(s): , Author(s):

Create lightweight Raspberry Pi scripts with Xonsh, a Python shell that lets you write scripts in Python with Bash commands mixed in.

For Raspberry Pi users, Xonsh [1] offers many opportunities to write some extremely lightweight scripts, with Python connecting to physical devices and Bash utilities accessing system and file resources.

In this article, we look at two lean Xonsh projects for the Raspberry Pi. The first program connects to a DHT11 temperature and humidity sensor and shows the results in a Bash dialog in just five lines. The second project calls the Bash top utility in a lean eight lines to show the Raspberry Pi idle time and user time on a 16x2 LCD screen.

Getting Started

Xonsh has two requirements: Python 3.8 or greater and a Bash shell. To install and run Xonsh on a Raspberry Pi, Ubuntu, or Debian system, enter:

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