> I'm having trouble understanding the difference between eval and exec.
eval evaluates an *expression* - that is something that returns a value. exec executes a piece of code, it need not return a value. eval is slightly safer than exec (but not much). Some examples: print 'hello' # use exec for this 6+7-9/3 # use eval for this myfunction(42) # use eval for this to make eval useful you need to assign the result to a variable: res = eval('6+7-9/3') but exec is just executed on its own: exec('print "hello"') Both are extremely dangerous functions from a security and maintenance/reliability pouint of view and should be used very rarely. Was there anything more specific you wanted to know? HTH Alan G. _______________________________________________ Tutor maillist - [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/tutor