title: How to execute an arbitrary shell script and pass multiple variables via Python?
body: <p>I am building an application plugin in Python which allows users to arbitrarily extend the application with simple scripts (working under Mac OS X).  Executing Python scripts is easy, but some users are more comfortable with languages like Ruby.</p>
  
  <p>From what I've read, I can easily execute Ruby scripts (or other arbitrary shell scripts) using <code>subprocess</code> and capture their output with a pipe; that's not a problem, and there's lots of examples online.  However, I need to provide the script with multiple variables (say a chunk of text along with some simple boolean information about the text the script is modifying) and I'm having trouble figuring out the best way to do this.</p>
  
  <p>Does anyone have a suggestion for the best way to accomplish this?  My goal is to provide scripts with the information they need with the least required code needed for accessing that information within the script.</p>
  
  <p>Thanks in advance!</p>