python hangs on raw_input

Question

I cannot overstate now new I am to python, so bear with me...

haven't had this before; one particular bit of raw_input is causing my pyscripter to just hang and never come back; I need to stop it in order to carry on:

import easygui
import arcgisscripting
import re
import dbfpy
from dbfpy import dbf
import sqlite3
import os

# create the geoprocessor object
gp = arcgisscripting.create(9.3)

# hangs on this for some reason, WHY?
workingfolder = raw_input('working folder please')
print workingfolder
#gp.workspace = workingfolder

# so do this instead for now
#gp.workspace = "I:\PDtest"

#easygui.fileopenbox(msg=None, title=None, default="*.shp", filetypes=None)

layer1 = easygui.fileopenbox(msg=None, title=None, default="I:\PDtest\*.shp", filetypes=None)
layer2 = easygui.fileopenbox(msg=None, title=None, default="I:\PDtest\*.shp", filetypes=None)

I just want the user to drop in a working directory that can be used from then on for the easygui stuff, fine, but, after printing the workingfolder string (which it does), pyscripter never carries on and I need to stop it manually. the string doesn't matter.

thanks for your help guys...

cj

ChrisJ · Answer

thanks blm for the idea; makes sense and I did have a geoprocessing module in use, ready to use. however I am still getting stuck:

gp = arcgisscripting.create(9.3)

inWorkspace = gp.GetParameterAsText(0)
layer1 = gp.GetParameterAsText(1)
layer2 = gp.GetParameterAsText(2)

print layer1
print layer2
print inWorkspace

gp.workspace = inWorkspace
# process
gp.PointDistance_analysis(layer1,layer2,"temp.dbf","#")

...this 'failed to execute, parameters are not valid'; printing each variable to see what happened produces nothing either. bear in mind I am quite a novice of course...

thanks again for all help offered...

cj

MikeMacRae · Answer

If you're working in 9.3, make sure you look at the help menu for 9.3. The arcpy module wasn't introduced until 10.0. You will need to use the geoprocessing module to get your parameters if you wish to use the ESRI tool GUI.

http://webhelp.esri.com/arcgisdesktop/9.3/index.cfm?TopicName=GetParameterAsText_methodgp.GetParameterAsText(0)

instead ofarcpy.GetParameterAsText(0)

Pyscripter is an OK debugging program. That won't be your issue.

Using the .py in your GUI toolbox is expected. It just means your tool GUI uses a .py (python file) to read your script. That helps the GUI understand that it is a python written script. You just set the GUI to the .py file and then it reads though the script, picking up the parameters as inputs. The GUI is just a nice interface that prompts the user to choose the parameter type you want (i.e. your workspace location) and then your write the script to take that input and do something with it, depending on what you write it to do 🙂

ChrisJ · Answer

thankyou both for your kind responses...

again I am astonishingly novice with python, and intermediate with arc (having come from a mapinfo background).  I'm using pyscripter and running these things from within pyscripter, which I'm hardly sure is the right thing to do but I have gotten some expected results.  I see that I can also specify a .py script in the toolbox, though I'm not sure what the benefits are either way.  also, I'm using arcgis 9.3 rather than 10, if that matters.

I've quickly tried some of the GetParametersAsText(#) from within pyscripter, which failed, but I've only just started, will give that a further tinker and see how it goes...

thanks again,

cj