Threads vs. processes, what to consider in choosing ?

[Barak, Ron]

Hi,

May I have your recommendations in choosing threads or processes for the following ?

I have a wxPython application that builds an internal database from a list of files and then displays various aspects of that data, 
in response to user's requests.

I want to add a module that finds events in a set of log files (LogManager).
These log files are potentially huge, and the initial processing is lengthy (several minutes).
Thus, when the user will choose LogManager, it would be unacceptable to block the other parts of the program, and so - the initial LogManager processing
would need to be done separately from the normal run of the program.
Once the initial processing is done, the main program would be notified and could display the results of LogManager processing.

I was thinking of either using threads, or using separate processes, for the main programs and LogManager.

What would you suggest I should consider in choosing between the two options ?
Are there other options besides threads and multi-processing ?

Thanks,
Ron.