can you print a file from python?

Question

Is there some way of sending output to the printer instead of the screen in Python? Or is there a service routine that can be called from within python to print a file? Mayb

Answer 1

Python doesn't (unless you're using graphical libraries) ever send stuff to "The screen". It writes to stdout and stderr, which are, as far as Python is concerned, just things that look like files.

It's simple enough to have python direct those streams to anything else that looks like a file; for instance, see Redirect stdout to a file in Python?

On unix systems, there are file-like devices that happen to be printers (/dev/lp*); on windows, LPT1 serves a similar purpose.

Regardless of the OS, you'll have to make sure that LPT1 or /dev/lp* are actually hooked up to a printer somehow.