How to set program name in Python? ($0 in Perl)

[Fredrik Lundh]

Bengt Richter wrote:

> >> > Is there a way to set the program name in Python, similar to $0 in
> >> > Perl?
> >> >
> >> >>From `man perlvar`:
> >> >
> >> > $0      Contains the name of the program being executed.  On some oper-
> >> > ating systems assigning to "$0" modifies the argument area that
> >> > the ps program sees.  This is more useful as a way of indicat-
> >> > ing the current program state than it is for hiding the program
> >> > you're running.  (Mnemonic: same as sh and ksh.)

> OTOH, if the intent is just to set a value for subsequent getting by way of
> sys.argv[0], isn't sys.argv an ordinary list?
>
>  >>> import sys
>  >>> sys.argv[0]
>  ''
>  >>> sys.argv[0] = '<interactive>'
>  >>> sys.argv[0]
>  '<interactive>'
>
>  >>> type(sys.argv)
>  <type 'list'>

given that Swaroop has written a nice book about Python, I somehow
suspect that he knows how sys.argv works:

     http://tinyurl.com/9s7bz

or are you saying that "ps" looks inside sys.argv on your machine?

</F>