Running Python Scripts from Shell Files

Shell scripts provide a convenient way to execute Python programs, particularly for automtaion tasks. This approach allows for parameter passing and shceduled execution.

Basic Implementation

Consider a Python script greet.py that outputs a personalized message:

# greet.py
def display_greeting(recipient):
    print(f"Good day, {recipient}!")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    display_greeting("Charlie")

To execute this via a shell script execute.sh:

#!/bin/bash
python greet.py "$1"

Run the script with:

bash execute.sh David

This will output: "Good day, David!"

Practical Example: Auotmated Notifications

For a daily notification system, create notify.py:

# notify.py
import smtplib
from email.message import EmailMessage

def send_notification(subject, content, recipient):
    sender = "notifications@example.com"
    password = "secure_password"
    
    msg = EmailMessage()
    msg['From'] = sender
    msg['To'] = recipient
    msg['Subject'] = subject
    msg.set_content(content)
    
    with smtplib.SMTP('smtp.example.com', 587) as server:
        server.starttls()
        server.login(sender, password)
        server.send_message(msg)

if __name__ == "__main__":
    send_notification("Daily Update", "Here's your morning briefing", "team@company.com")

Create a corresponding shell script daily_notify.sh:

#!/bin/bash
python notify.py

Schedule execution with cron:

0 9 * * * /path/to/daily_notify.sh

This setup will send daily emails at 9 AM.