Is there a better way to implement this:

[Peter Otten]

Paul Boddie wrote:

> Michael Yanowitz wrote:
>>
>>    I guess I am looking for something portable (both
>> Windows and Linux) where I can abort a function after
>> a certain time limit expires.
> 
> Doing a search for "timeout function Python" on Google reveals a number
> of approaches.
 
> Using threads:
> 
>   * http://aspn.activestate.com/ASPN/Cookbook/Python/Recipe/473878

That doesn't abort the calculation, however -- it just moves on with a
default value instead of the actual result if that is not available after
the specified timespan. 

The calculation may go on forever eating up resources.

Peter