def getstatus(file):

    """Return output of "ls -ld <file>" in a string."""

    import warnings

    warnings.warn("commands.getstatus() is deprecated", DeprecationWarning, 2)

    return getoutput('ls -ld' + mkarg(file))

# Get the output from a shell command into a string.

# The exit status is ignored; a trailing newline is stripped.

# Assume the command will work with '{ ... ; } 2>&1' around it..

#

def getoutput(cmd):

    """Return output (stdout or stderr) of executing cmd in a shell."""

    return getstatusoutput(cmd)[1]

# Ditto but preserving the exit status.

# Returns a pair (sts, output)

#

def getstatusoutput(cmd):

    """Return (status, output) of executing cmd in a shell."""

    import os

    pipe = os.popen('{ ' + cmd + '; } 2>&1', 'r')

    text = pipe.read()

    sts = pipe.close()

    if sts is None: sts = 0

    if text[-1:] == '\n': text = text[:-1]

    return sts, text