How do I use python to hit this command and return the result?

$whois abc.com

I want to use python to hit this comman开发者_开发知识库d, and then give the result as a String of text. How can I do that?

You can use subprocess, for example:

from subprocess import Popen, PIPE
output = Popen(["/usr/bin/whois", "abc.com"], stdout = PIPE).communicate()[0]

The stdout = PIPE parameter forces stdout to be written to a temporary pipe instead of the console (if you don't want that, remove the stdout parameter).

subprocess is fine. On the other hand, the whois protocol is so simple that I do not see why to use an external command (and depend on its availability). Just open a TCP connection to port 43, send a one-line query and read the responses.

With subprocess.