python, threading and a radio timer

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  • Renato

    #1

    python, threading and a radio timer

    Dear all,

    I found this nifty article on how to record your favourite radio show
    using cron and mplayer:


    Because I couldn't get the date in the filename (and was too lazy to
    look into sh/bash manuals), I decided to use Python. It was a good
    choice, because I decided to improve the timer - learning some more
    Python along the way!

    So, the idea is:
    - cron runs the script at a specific time
    - the script starts mplayer, and will keep checking the clock until
    it's time to kill mplayer
    - after mplayer has exited, oggenc is started to turn the raw WAV into
    ogg
    - and finally the remaining WAV is deleted

    This basic setting is quite easy, and I used os.spawnvp(os.P _WAIT,...),
    along with another CRON entry to kill mplayer.

    But then I got more ambitious: I wanted the script to keep checking if
    mplayer was alive - in case the connection goes down. Moreover, I would
    rather have the script stop mplayer than cron.

    At this point, I thought I should get some professional help... :) What
    is the right way to go? Would threads be overkill? If so, where can I
    go about looking for process control/management without delving into
    complex daemon architectures?

    So, rather than asking for code, I'm looking for guidance - this is a
    didactic experience!

    Cheers,

    Renato

  • ArdPy

    #2
    Re: python, threading and a radio timer


    Renato wrote:
    Dear all,
    >
    I found this nifty article on how to record your favourite radio show
    using cron and mplayer:

    >
    Because I couldn't get the date in the filename (and was too lazy to
    look into sh/bash manuals), I decided to use Python. It was a good
    choice, because I decided to improve the timer - learning some more
    Python along the way!
    >
    So, the idea is:
    - cron runs the script at a specific time
    - the script starts mplayer, and will keep checking the clock until
    it's time to kill mplayer
    - after mplayer has exited, oggenc is started to turn the raw WAV into
    ogg
    - and finally the remaining WAV is deleted
    >
    This basic setting is quite easy, and I used os.spawnvp(os.P _WAIT,...),
    along with another CRON entry to kill mplayer.
    >
    But then I got more ambitious: I wanted the script to keep checking if
    mplayer was alive - in case the connection goes down. Moreover, I would
    rather have the script stop mplayer than cron.
    >
    At this point, I thought I should get some professional help... :) What
    is the right way to go? Would threads be overkill? If so, where can I
    go about looking for process control/management without delving into
    complex daemon architectures?
    >
    So, rather than asking for code, I'm looking for guidance - this is a
    didactic experience!
    >
    Cheers,
    >
    Renato
    I would suggest you take a look at Python 'commands' module. The module
    lets you run Unix commands by taking them as parameters to function
    calls. That is all I can say with my level of expertise.

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