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https://github.com/op/pkg-python-setproctitle

Debian packaging for python setproctitle
https://github.com/op/pkg-python-setproctitle

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Debian packaging for python setproctitle

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README 

        
A ``setproctitle`` implementation for Python

============================================



:author: Daniele Varrazzo



The library allows a process to change its title (as displayed by system tools

such as ``ps`` and ``top``).



Changing the title is mostly useful in multi-process systems, for example

when a master process is forked: changing the children's title allows to

identify the task each process is busy with.  The technique is used by

PostgreSQL_ and the `OpenSSH Server`_ for example.



The procedure is hardly portable across different systems.  PostgreSQL provides

a good `multi-platform implementation`__:  this module is a Python wrapper

around PostgreSQL code.



- `Homepage `__

- `Download `__

- `Source repository `__

- `Bug tracker `__



.. _PostgreSQL: http://www.postgresql.org

.. _OpenSSH Server: http://www.openssh.com/

.. __: http://doxygen.postgresql.org/ps__status_8c_source.html



Installation

------------



You can use ``easy_install`` to install the module: to perform a system-wide

installation use::



    sudo easy_install setproctitle



If you are an unprivileged user or you want to limit installation to a local

environment, you can use the command::



    easy_install -d /target/path setproctitle



Note that ``easy_install`` requires ``/target/path`` to be in your

``PYTHONPATH``.



Python 3 support

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



As of version 1.1 the module works with Python 3.  In order to install the

module, you can use the `distribute`_ replacemente for ``easy_install``.



In order to build and test the module under Python 3, the ``Makefile``

contains some helper targets.



.. _distribute: http://pypi.python.org/pypi/distribute



Usage

-----



The ``setproctitle`` module exports the following functions:



``setproctitle(title)``

    Set *title* as the title for the current process.



``getproctitle()``

    Return the current process title.



Environment variables

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



A few environment variables can be used to customize the module behavior:



``SPT_NOENV``

    Avoid clobbering ``/proc/PID/environ``.



    On many platforms, setting the process title will clobber the

    ``environ`` memory area. ``os.environ`` will work as expected from within

    the Python process, but the content of the file ``/proc/PID/environ`` will

    be overwritten.  If you require this file not to be broken you can set the

    ``SPT_NOENV`` environment variable to any non-empty value: in this case

    the maximum length for the title will be limited to the length of the

    command line.



``SPT_DEBUG``

    Print debug information on ``stderr``.



    If the module doesn't work as expected you can set this variable to a

    non-empty value to generate information useful for debugging.  Note that

    the most useful information is printed when the module is imported, not

    when the functions are called.



Module status

-------------



The module can be currently compiled and effectively used on the following

platforms:



- GNU/Linux

- BSD

- MacOS X

- Windows



Note that on Windows there is no way to change the process string:

what the module does is to create a *Named Object* whose value can be read

using a tool such as `Process Explorer`_ (contribution of a more useful tool

to be used together with ``setproctitle`` would be well accepted).



The module can probably work on HP-UX, but I haven't found any to test with.

It is unlikely that it can work on Solaris instead.



.. _Process Explorer: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653.aspx



Other known implementations and discussions

-------------------------------------------



- `procname`_: a module exposing the same functionality, but less portable 

  and not well packaged.

- `Issue 5672`_: where the introduction of such functionality into the stdlib

  is being discussed.



.. _procname: http://code.google.com/p/procname/

.. _Issue 5672: http://bugs.python.org/issue5672



..

    vim: set filetype=rst: