Getting SuperUser Authority From Within Running Python Program

[Peter Hansen]

Tim Daneliuk wrote:
> 
> I am working on the next release of 'twander' - a user-programmable
> file manager/browser (http://www.tundrware.com/Software/twander).
> I want to be able to temporarily go to super-user status so the
> program can act upon/manage/manipulate root-owned files.

Umm, that's not really want you want to do.  You think you
want to do it, but you really don't.

What you want to do, is require that anyone who wants to manipulate
root-owner files, should be logged in as root already when they
run the program.  *That's* what you really wanted to do, but didn't
realize you wanted to do.  ;-)

-Peter