The sys Module

The sys module provides access to system-specific parameters and functions, allowing interaction with the interpreter and environment.

python import sys

1. Getting Command-Line Arguments (sys.argv)

sys.argv is a list containing the command-line arguments passed to the script. The first element (sys.argv[0]) is always the name of the script itself.

Example Script (process.py):

python

process.py

if len(sys.argv) > 1: filename = sys.argv[1] print(f"Processing file: {filename}") else: print("No filename provided.")

Running the script:

bash python process.py configuration.json

Output: Processing file: configuration.json

2. Exiting the Program (sys.exit)

Used to exit the Python interpreter immediately.

python if not os.path.exists('critical_file.txt'): print("FATAL: Critical file missing. Exiting.") sys.exit(1) # Exit code 1 indicates an error

3. Interpreter Information

python print(f"Python Version: {sys.version}") print(f"Search Path for Modules: {sys.path}")