[IPython-dev] kernel restart

Bob McElrath bob+ipython at mcelrath.org
Thu Jun 21 01:11:42 EDT 2012


MinRK [benjaminrk at gmail.com] wrote:
> 
> All code in cells runs on the kernel, and the kernel cannot restart itself.
> Restart involves killing the kernel, and logically enough, a kernel cannot
> start up again *after* it has killed itself.
> 
> If you want to clean the namespace and not halt the whole process, this is what
> %reset is for.

This is insufficient as a programmatic restart.  Imported packages are not
cleanly re-imported.  See the caveats surrounding reload() for instance.

%reset seems to be a bit worse though, as far as I can tell it does NOT reload()
modules (does not recompile them).  What would be required to make %reset see
source changes on imported modules?

So maybe it wasn't a stupid question, as this functionality doesn't exist...

--
Cheers, Bob McElrath

"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by
the tribe.  If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened.
But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." 
    -- Friedrich Nietzsche



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