Python compile() Function

The python compile() function takes source code as input and returns a code object which can later be executed by exec() function.

Syntax of compile() Function

It has the following syntax:

Parameters

• source - normal string, a byte string, or an AST (Abstract Syntax Trees) object.
• filename - File from which the code is read.
• mode - mode can be either exec or eval or single.
  • eval: If the source is a single expression.
  • exec: If the source is block of statements.
  • single: If the source is single statement.
• flags and dont_inherit - Default Value= 0. Both are optional parameters. It monitors that which future statements affect the compilation of the source.
• optimize (optional) - Default value -1. It defines the optimization level of the compiler.

Return Values

It returns a Python code object.

Examples of Python compile() Function

Let's see some examples of compile() function which are given below:

Example 1: compile() Function with exec() function

In this example, the compile() function is used to convert a string of code into a code object, which is then executed using exec() to run the program dynamically.

Output:

<class 'code'>
sum = 15

Example 2: File Execution using compile() Function

In this example, Python code is read from a file as a string, compiled into a code object using compile(), and then executed using exec() to run the file content dynamically.

Let's say we have mycode.py file with following content.

Output:

Multiplication =200