How can I check the syntax of Python script without executing it?

Question

I used to use perl -c programfile to check the syntax of a Perl program and then exit without executing it. Is there an equivalent way to do this for a Python s

Answer 1

Here's another solution, using the ast module:

python -c "import ast; ast.parse(open('programfile').read())"

To do it cleanly from within a Python script:

import ast, traceback

filename = 'programfile'
with open(filename) as f:
    source = f.read()
valid = True
try:
    ast.parse(source)
except SyntaxError:
    valid = False
    traceback.print_exc()  # Remove to silence any errros
print(valid)