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.

.. _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

Notice that ``easy_install`` requires ``/target/path`` to be in your 
``PYTHONPATH``.


Module content
--------------

The module exports the following functions:

``setproctitle(title)``
    Set *title* as the title for the current process.


``getproctitle()``
    Return the current process title.


Module status
-------------

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

- GNU/Linux
- BSD
- MacOS X
- Windows

Notice 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


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


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: