Option `Hide command line output windows generated by the subprocess module` is not working without `use symbolic math`

[master-nemo]

Issue Report Checklist

• [x] Searched the issues page for similar reports ///Searched by latex and dvipng keywords
• [x] Read the relevant sections of the Spyder Troubleshooting Guide and followed its advice
• [x] Reproduced the issue after updating with conda update spyder (or pip, if not using Anaconda)

  conda create --name tmp python --no-default-packages
  activate tmp
  conda install spyder sympy
  (tmp) #  where python
  C:\dev\Anaconda3\envs\tmp\python.exe
  C:\dev\ANACONDA3\python.exe
  spyder --reset

• [x] Could not reproduce inside jupyter qtconsole (if console-related) // in qtconsole works fine
• [x] Tried basic troubleshooting (if a bug/error)
  • [x] Restarted Spyder
  • [x] Reset preferences with spyder --reset //see above log of clean installation
  • [ ] Reinstalled the latest version of Anaconda // no, sorry, i don`t think it is SO deep bug and can't do it right now
  • [x] Tried the other applicable steps from the Troubleshooting Guide
• [x] Completed the Problem Description, Steps to Reproduce and Version sections below

Problem Description

Option Hide command line output windows generated by the subprocess module is not working without use symbolic math.

What steps reproduce the problem?

1. execute this for clean installation

   conda create --name tmp python --no-default-packages
   activate tmp
   conda install spyder sympy
   (tmp) #  where python
   C:\dev\Anaconda3\envs\tmp\python.exe
   C:\dev\ANACONDA3\python.exe
   spyder --reset

2. Start Spyder from the windows menu shortcut or from win+R (not from console! it works fine when Spyder starts from a console )

3. Ensure options is set to

   • [ ] use symbolic math - false
   • [x] Hide command line output windows generated by the subprocess module - true screenshot0

4. execute from sympy.abc import a ; a in cell or ipython console

What is the expected output? What do you see instead?

Expected: no other windows on screen when processing command. Instead: two console windows (...latex.exe and ...dvipng) with is shown and disappeared.

screenshot1

upd: note: when [x] use symbolic math is enabled - it works as expected.

Versions

• Spyder version: 4.1.3
• Python version: 3.8.3 // and 3.7.6 too
• Qt version: 5.9.7
• PyQt version: 5.9.2
• Operating System name/version: windows 7 pro

Dependencies

# Mandatory:
atomicwrites >=1.2.0           :  1.4.0 (OK)
chardet >=2.0.0                :  3.0.4 (OK)
cloudpickle >=0.5.0            :  1.4.1 (OK)
diff_match_patch >=20181111    :  20181111 (OK)
intervaltree                   :  None (OK)
IPython >=4.0                  :  7.13.0 (OK)
jedi =0.15.2                   :  0.15.2 (OK)
nbconvert >=4.0                :  5.6.1 (OK)
numpydoc >=0.6.0               :  0.9.2 (OK)
paramiko >=2.4.0               :  2.7.1 (OK)
parso =0.5.2                   :  0.5.2 (OK)
pexpect >=4.4.0                :  4.8.0 (OK)
pickleshare >=0.4              :  0.7.5 (OK)
psutil >=5.3                   :  5.7.0 (OK)
pygments >=2.0                 :  2.6.1 (OK)
pylint >=0.25                  :  2.5.2 (OK)
pyls >=0.31.9;<0.32.0          :  0.31.10 (OK)
qdarkstyle >=2.8               :  2.8.1 (OK)
qtawesome >=0.5.7              :  0.7.0 (OK)
qtconsole >=4.6.0              :  4.7.4 (OK)
qtpy >=1.5.0                   :  1.9.0 (OK)
rtree >=0.8.3                  :  0.9.4 (OK)
sphinx >=0.6.6                 :  3.0.3 (OK)
spyder_kernels >=1.9.1;<1.10.0 :  1.9.1 (OK)
watchdog                       :  None (OK)
zmq >=17                       :  18.1.1 (OK)

# Optional:
cython >=0.21                  :  None (OK)
matplotlib >=2.0.0             :  None (OK)
numpy >=1.7                    :  None (OK)
pandas >=0.13.1                :  None (OK)
scipy >=0.17.0                 :  None (OK)
sympy >=0.7.3                  :  1.5.1 (OK)

[steff456]

Hi @master-nemo,

Can you explain me why don't you want to use the symbolic math option if you will be using sympy?

[master-nemo]

When use symbolic math is enabled, Spyder executes this code at console start:

These commands were executed:
from __future__ import division
from sympy import *
x, y, z, t = symbols('x y z t')
k, m, n = symbols('k m n', integer=True)
f, g, h = symbols('f g h', cls=Function)

Warning: pylab (numpy and matplotlib) and symbolic math (sympy) are both
enabled at the same time. Some pylab functions are going to be overrided by
the sympy module (e.g. plot)

It can collide with my variables. Of course I can del x,y... but it seems like a dirty patch.

So, yes, you are right - this issue is not very important, but it still looks like a small bug.