6.14 The exec statement
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exec_stmt ::= "exec" expression ["in" expression ["," expression]]
This statement supports dynamic execution of Python code. The first expression should evaluate to either a string, an open file object, or a code object. If it is a string, the string is parsed as a suite of Python statements which is then executed (unless a syntax error occurs). If it is an open file, the file is parsed until EOF and executed. If it is a code object, it is simply executed.
In all cases, if the optional parts are omitted, the code is executed in the current scope. If only the first expression after in is specified, it should be a dictionary, which will be used for both the global and the local variables. If two expressions are given, they are used for the global and local variables, respectively. If provided, locals can be any mapping object. Changed in version 2.4: formerly locals was required to be a dictionary.
As a side effect, an implementation may insert additional keys into
the dictionaries given besides those corresponding to variable names
set by the executed code. For example, the current implementation
may add a reference to the dictionary of the built-in module
__builtin__ under the key __builtins__ (!).
Programmer's hints: dynamic evaluation of expressions is supported by the built-in function eval(). The built-in functions globals() and locals() return the current global and local dictionary, respectively, which may be useful to pass around for use by exec.
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Release 2.4.1, documentation updated on 30 March 2005.