[SOLVED] 'If' statements and one line Python scripts from the command line

Issue

Why do I receive a syntax error for the following one-liner Python code?

python -c 'import re; if True: print "HELLO";'
  File "<string>", line 1
    import re; if True: print "HELLO";
                ^
SyntaxError: invalid syntax

The following code works just fine:

python -c 'if True: print "HELLO";'

How can I change my one line to execute my intended script on a single line from the command line?

Solution

One option to work around this limitation is to specify the command with the $'string' format using the newline escape sequence \n.

python -c $'import re\nif True: print "HELLO";'

Note: this is supported by shells, such as Bash and Z shell (zsh), but it is not valid POSIX Bourne shell (sh).

As mentioned by slaadvak, there are some other workarounds here: Executing Python multi-line statements in the one-line command-line

Answered By - Rynant

Answer Checked By - David Goodson (WPSolving Volunteer)