Execute instructions written in a string [duplicate]

Question

I have a little problem, I have written a for loop as a string.

In PHP, with the help of function exec(), we can run the string which will eventually run the for loop defined inside the string.

Can we do such a thing in Python as well?

By example, I would like run follow it:

string="for i in range(1,(5+1)): print(str(i))"

How to run this in Python?

Does this answer your question? What's the difference between eval, exec, and compile? — lucidbrot
– lucidbrot, Commented Mar 10, 2020 at 12:56
eval and exec are the correct solution, and they can be used in a safer manner. — Freeman
– Freeman, Commented Mar 10, 2020 at 12:57

maestromusica · Accepted Answer · 2020-03-10 12:55:55Z

1

You can use exec if you want to execute some statements:

code = 'for i in range(1,(5+1)): print(str(i))'
exec(code)

If you want to evaluate an expression and get the value then you can use eval:

value = eval('2+3')
print(value) # 5

answered Mar 10, 2020 at 12:55

maestromusica

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