GUI To Execute Command Line Service Or Code Using Python

Using Python GUI To Run Command Line Programs

The output of command line terminal programs can be manipulated by Python. Python is a programming language and Tkinter is a lightweight GUI framework.

Tkinter comes bundled with Python version 3 on Linux, macOS and Windows. It is the Python interface to the Tk GUI toolkit. Th python subprocess module is used with Popn interface directly.

Combine command line code with GUI Tkinter and let Python control everything. You can find more information about Tkinter GUI in the Cross Platform Python Desktop GUI Using Tkinter article.

Python GUI Window For Command Line Programs

Check If MySQL Service Is Running

Command Line Programs For MySQL Service Check

Name	Description	Example
ps [OPTION …]	Report a snapshot of the current processes	ps aux
grep [OPTION …] PATTERNS [FILE …]	print lines that match patterns	grep “mysqld”
head [OPTION …] [FILE …]	Output the first part of files	head -1
systemctl [OPTION …] COMMAND [UNIT …]	Control the systemd system and service manager	systemctl start mysqld
pipe	Redirect standard ouput, input, or error of one process to another	Command-1 | Command-2 | … | Command-N
Name	Description	Example

# GUI To Execute Command Line Service Or Code Using Python Inspired By OjamboShop.com/learning-python Course

# Import Tkinter Module And Create Instance Of Tkinter's Tk Class
import tkinter as tk
import subprocess

window = tk.Tk()
window.title("My App")
window.geometry("400x400")

class App:
	def __init__(self, master):

		self.services = [['mysql', r'ps aux | grep "mariadbd" | grep -v grep | head -1 | grep basedir', 'systemctl start mariadb', 'systemctl stop mariadb']]

		# Text Widget
		self.txt_output = tk.Text(master, height=10)
		self.txt_output.pack()
		self.running_services()

		# Start Button
		self.btn_start = tk.Button(master, text="Start Services", command=self.start_services)
		self.btn_start.pack()

		# Stop Button
		self.btn_stop = tk.Button(master, text="Stop Services", command=self.stop_services)
		self.btn_stop.pack()

	def running_services(self):
		
		for service, check, start, stop in self.services:
			out, err = self.run_command(check)
			if service in str(out).lower():
				self.txt_output.insert(1.0, service + " is running\n")
			else:
				self.txt_output.insert(1.0, service + " is not running\n")

	def start_services(self):
		
		self.txt_output.delete(1.0, tk.END)
		for service, check, start, stop in self.services:
			out, err = self.run_command(check)
			if service in str(out).lower():
				self.txt_output.insert(1.0, service + " is running\n")
			else:
				out, err = self.run_command(start + ' && ' + check)
				if service in str(out).lower():
					self.txt_output.insert(1.0, service + " is running\n")
				else:
					self.txt_output.insert(1.0, service + " is not running " + str(err))

	def stop_services(self):
		
		self.txt_output.delete(1.0, tk.END)
		for service, check, start, stop in self.services:
			out, err = self.run_command(stop + ' && ' + check)
			if service in str(out).lower():
				self.txt_output.insert(1.0, service + " is running\n")
			else:
				self.txt_output.insert(1.0, service + " is not running\n")

	def run_command(self, cmd):
		proc = subprocess.Popen(cmd, shell=True, stdin=subprocess.PIPE, stdout=subprocess.PIPE, stderr=subprocess.PIPE)
		outs, errs = proc.communicate()
		return outs, errs 
    
    
# Create Object Named app    
app = App(window)

# Run Tkinter Event Loop
window.mainloop()

Usage

You can use any IDE, text editor or the Python interactive shell to execute command line code in a GUI using Python. In this tutorial, command line programs were used to determine in the MySQL service is running, Tkinter was used to generate a GUI and Python was used for the logic.

Open Source

Python is licensed under the Python Software Foundation License. This allows commercial use, modification, distribution, and allows making private derivatives. The PSF License is compatible with other open source licenses.

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Conclusion:

Python makes it easy to create a GUI for command line services or code. Command line ouput is controlled by the subprocess module and the GUI is generated using Tkinter.

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References:

• Learning Python Course on OjamboShop.com
• GNU Bash Project Shell
• Cross Platform Python Desktop GUI Using Tkinter Article
• Python Software Foundation License