Python and accessing command line utilities ifconfig, iwconfig and iw directly

Question

I'm accessing ifconfig, iwconfig and iw from subprocess.Popen as below:

p = sp.Popen(["ifconfig",nic],stdin=sp.PIPE,stdout=sp.PIPE,stderr=sp.PIPE)
out,err = p.communicate()

Is there a better way, i.e faster to do this such as interfacing directly to the underlying code perhaps or is the added time delay negligible - time becomes a concern when using iw to switch channels.

if you're okay with external dependencies, native bindings exist (ie `python-ifconfig`). — roippi, Jul 08 '14 at 20:04
I've looked at that however, it is my understanding that in the case of iw the "pythonic" version is very limited. How would one go about coding a python-iw with native bindings? — WraithWireless, Jul 08 '14 at 20:12

Roland Smith · Answer 1 · 2014-07-08T20:59:38.397

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Try reading/writing the relevant files from the /proc filesystem directly.

The /proc pseudo filesystem is where the Linux kernel exposes a lot of information. You might want to look around in /proc/net, especially /proc/net/dev and /proc/net/wireless. See the documentation, and some more information.

edited Jul 08 '14 at 20:59

answered Jul 08 '14 at 20:30

Roland Smith

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@dvp The `/proc` filesystem is where the Linux kernel makes a lot of information about processes and its internal state available for reading and sometimes writing. I've added some documentation links to my answer. – Roland Smith Jul 08 '14 at 21:00
OK Thanks, what I've seen so far is good. Will this be the same across all linux? – WraithWireless Jul 08 '14 at 21:36
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@dvp Yes, basically. It is a filesystem made available by the kernel. The only way it wouldn't work is if the `/proc` filesystem isn't mounted. But a lot of tools depend on it, so it is generally always mounted. There are some differences in `/proc` layout between major kernel versions, though. – Roland Smith Jul 08 '14 at 21:47

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered May 02 '16 at 17:19

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So, finally got around to writing own code - interfaces directly with netlink and ioctl to handle iw and ifconfig respectively - hosted on https://github.com/wraith-wireless/pyric and https://pypi.python.org/pypi/PyRIC/

answered May 02 '16 at 17:19

WraithWireless

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Python and accessing command line utilities ifconfig, iwconfig and iw directly

2 Answers2