Default substituting %s in python scripts

That would be later used in something like:

print cmd % ('foo','boo','bar')

What you're seeing is just a string assignment with fields in it which will later be filled in.

Basics of python string formatting

Not a specific answer to your line of code, but since you said you're new to python I thought I'd use this as an example to share some joy ;)

Simple Example Inline With a List:

>>> print '%s %s %s'%('python','is','fun')python is fun

Simple Example Using a Dictionary:

>>> print '%(language)s has %(number)03d quote types.' % \  ...       {"language": "Python", "number": 2}Python has 002 quote types

When in doubt, check the python official docs - http://docs.python.org/library/stdtypes.html#string-formatting

It's being used for string interpolation. The %s is replaced by a string. You use the modulo operator (%) to do string interpolation. The string will be on the left side, the values to substitute for the various %s are on the right, in a tuple.

>>> s = '%s and %s'>>> s % ('cats', 'dogs' )<<< 'cats and dogs'

If you have just a single character you can forget the tuple.

>>> s = '%s!!!'>>> s % 'what'<<< 'what!!!'

In newer versions of python the recommend way is to use the format method of the string type:

>>> '{0} {1}'.format('Hey', 'Hey')<<< 'Hey Hey'