Python - Word Count script

Question

Down below is Python word count script that I found online, I am having difficulty understanding how you would run this though. Would I need to create a file and open it in Python before running this program for it to work?

#!/usr/bin/env python

import sys

if __name__ == '__main__':

    data = sys.stdin.read()
    chars = len(data)
    words = len(data.split())
    lines = len(data.split('\n'))

    print ("{0}   {1}   {2}".format(lines, words, chars))

Thanks for any help!

Answer 1

sys.stdin.read() reads data from the console. Just run the python program and type whatever you want. When you're done press Ctrl + D .

Answer 2

The sys.stdin.read() line tells me that it is expecting to receive the input from the standard input so you can use it something like:

type somefile.txt | python wordcount.py

or run python wordcount.py and type into the console ending with ctrl-d