[Tutor] monitor other running applications with Py
Che M
pine508 at hotmail.com
Wed May 30 19:51:54 CEST 2007
Thanks for the pointers, Alan. It seems perhaps a bit beyond my abilities
for now, but something to keep in mind for the future if I get that far.
And yes, the legal aspects are worth noting, though rest assured my wish for
such a thing is for self-monitoring rather than other-monitoring, though I
can see how it could get used nefariously if not cautious.
Best,
Che
>Date: Sun, 27 May 2007 15:54:11 +0100
>From: "Alan Gauld" <alan.gauld at btinternet.com>
>Subject: Re: [Tutor] monitor other running applications with Python?
>To: tutor at python.org
>Message-ID: <f3c63q$u2e$1 at sea.gmane.org>
>Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
> reply-type=original
>
>"Che M" <pine508 at hotmail.com> wrote
>
> > Hi, searched a bit for this but haven't found much.
> > Is it possible to use Python to monitor the use of
> > other applications?
>
>Yes, definitely.
>
> > At minimum, I wan't to know that the application was running
>
>Thats fairly easy using OS tools such as ps on Unix.
>You can dig a little deeper and use the system APIs such
>as the proc fiilesystem or the equivalent in the windows
>registry.
>
> > better would be some sense of the use or content, such
> > as whether the app was idle or the user was using it,
> > or, for a web browser, what URLs were visited and for
> > how long, etc.
>
>Thats possible but gets very OS specific and very low level too.
>On Windows you can catch Windows events and messages
>using some of the raw Win32 API calls from the ctypes module.
>(I've never used ctypes for anything this low level but it
>should be possible, I''ve certainly done it in C++ and Delphi
>on Win 9X). But its messy and fairly deep Windows magic
>and you will need to spend a fair bit of time experimenting
>and reading the docs on MSDN as well as the Win32 API
>help file.
>
> > Ideally I'd like a cross-platforms approach
>
>I doubt if that's possible except at the process monitoring
>level. For the kind of detail you want the bgestb you can
>do is have a common UI and pluggable modules based
>on the OS.
>
>Also beware legal implications. There are issues around
>personal privacy, data proptection etc and these vary between
>countries (and even states in the US). People are increasingly
>wary of Big Brother style monitoring. Detecting inappropriate
>use of the internet across a corporate firwall is generally
>considered OK but silently monitoring individuals brings you
>into murky legal waters.
>
>Finally, take a look at the stuff in the os package and the
>syslog module for Unix.
>
>HTH,
>
>--
>Alan Gauld
>Author of the Learn to Program web site
>http://www.freenetpages.co.uk/hp/alan.gauld
>
>
>
>------------------------------
>
>Message: 2
>Date: Sun, 27 May 2007 12:25:17 -0500
>From: adam urbas <adamurbas at hotmail.com>
>Subject: [Tutor] error message questions
>To: python tutor <tutor at python.org>
>Message-ID: <BAY103-W127AF8FBF014463458F350B1290 at phx.gbl>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252"
>
>Hello all,I was wondering if there would be someone who would be able to
>give me a list of error messages and their meanings. I've attached this
>test.py to illustrate my problem. When I run the program, I am able to
>enter all the data, yet it will not calculate.It says:can't multiply
>sequence by non-int of type 'str'I really would like to know how to fix
>this.I get a similar message with my other one, radiacir.py:can't multiply
>sequence by non-int of type 'float'Please help!Thanks in advance,Adam
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>
>Message: 3
>Date: Sun, 27 May 2007 12:49:04 -0500
>From: adam urbas <adamurbas at hotmail.com>
>Subject: Re: [Tutor] trouble with "if"
>To: Brian van den Broek <broek at cc.umanitoba.ca>
>Cc: python tutor <tutor at python.org>
>Message-ID: <BAY103-W7D614AA96749DD0D7BC0CB1290 at phx.gbl>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252"
>
>Thank you for the help Brian. I would like to ask you about these things.
>Which one of the examples you gave would be most fool proof.> Date: Wed, 23
>May 2007 13:40:09 -0400> From: broek at cc.umanitoba.ca> To:
>adamurbas at hotmail.com> CC: tutor at python.org> Subject: Re: [Tutor] trouble
>with "if"> > adam urbas said unto the world upon 05/23/2007 01:04 PM:> >
>Sorry, I don't think Hotmail has turn off HTML. If it does I> > havn't
>been able to find it. I think you're going to have to> > explain your
>little bit of text stuff down there at the bottom. I> > have no idea what
>most of that means. All my choice things are> > working now though. I
>think that is what you were trying to help> > me with. What I used wasif
>shape in["1","circle"]:and if shape ==> > "1" or shape =="circle":It works
>perfectly fine now.Ya that little> > bit o' code is really puzzling. I
>wish I knew more about this> > python deal. I understand the concept, but
>not the rules or the> > techniques and things !
> of that sort. OK... I've got it... the> > data=raw_input('Feed Me!').
>Ok I now understand that bit. Then it> > says Feed Me! and you put 42
>(the ultimate answer to life the> > universe, everything). OK, it won't
>accept the <type 'str'> bit.> > it doesn't like the "<". Well, I just
>removed that bit and it> > said:Feed Me! and I put 42, and it said >>> (I
>guess it's> > satisfied now, with the whole feeding). Well if I understood
>what> > 'str' meant, then I could probably figure the rest out. Well I> >
>have to go do other things so I'll save the rest of this figuring> > out
>till later.I shall return,Adam> Date: Wed, 23 May 2007 12:12:16> > -0400>
>From: broek at cc.umanitoba.ca> To: adamurbas at hotmail.com> CC:> >
>tutor at python.org> Subject: Re: [Tutor] trouble with "if"> > adam> > urbas
>said unto the world upon 05/23/2007 11:57 AM:> > > > Hi all,>> > > > > I've
>been working with this new program that I wrote. I> > started out > > with
>it on a Ti-83, which is much easier to!
> program> > than python. Now > > I'm trying to transfer the program t
>o python> > but its proving to be quite > > difficult. I'm not sure what
>the> > whole indentation thing is for. And > > now I'm having trouble> >
>with the if statement things. > > > > #"Circle Data Calculation> >
>Program:"> > print "Welcome to the Circle Data Calcuation> > Program."> >
>print> > > > #"Menu 1:"> > print "Pick a shape:">> > > print "(NOTE:
>You must select the number of the shape and not the> > shape > > itself)">
> > print "1 Circle"> > print "2 Square"> > print> > "3 Triangle"> > > >
>#"User's Choice:"> > shape=raw_input("> ")>> > > > > #"Select
>Given:"> > if shape == 1:> > print> > "Choose the given value:"> >
> print "1 radius"> >> > print "2 diameter"> > print "3
>circumference"> >> > print "4 area"> > > > #"User's Choice:"> >
>given=raw_input("> ")> >> > > > if given == 1:> >
>radius=raw_input("Enter Radius:")> >> > diameter=(radius*2)> >
>circumference=(diameter*3.14)> >> > area=(radius**2*3.14)> > !
> print "Diameter:", diameter> >> > print "Circumference:", circumference>
> > print "Area:",> > area> > > > if given == 2:> >
>diameter=raw_input("Enter> > Diameter:")> > radius=(diameter/2)> >>
> > circumference=(diameter*3.14)> > area=(radius**2*3.14)> >> >
>print "Radius:", radius> > print "Circumference:",> >
>circumference> > print "Area:", area> > > > if given == 3:>> > >
> circumference=raw_input("Enter Circumference:")> >> >
>radius=(circumference/3.14/2)> > diameter=(radius*2)> >> >
>area=(radius**2*3.14)> > print "Radius:", radius> >> > print
>"Diameter:", diameter> > print "Area:", area> > > >> > if given ==
>4:> > area=raw_input("Enter Area:")> >> > radius=(area/3.14)> >
> > > This is the whole program so> > far, because I haven't quite
>finished it > > yet. But I tried to> > get it to display another list of
>options after you > > select a> > shape but it just does this.> > > > Pick!
> a shape:> > 1 Circle> > 2> > Square> > 3 Triangle> > >1> > >1> > >
> >>> > > > I'm not sure why> > it does that but I do know that it is
>skipping the > > second list> > of options.> > > > Another of my problems
>is that I can't figure> > out how to get it to > > accept two different
>inputs for a> > selection. Like I want it to accept > > both the number 1
>and> > circle as circle then list the options for > > circle. It won't> >
>even accept words. I can only get it to accept > > numbers. It's> > quite
>frustrating actually.> > > > Any advice would be greatly> > appreciated.> >
>Thanks in advance,> > Adam> > > > > > > Adam,> >> > Could you send plain
>text email rather than html, please? At least> > for > me, your code's
>indentation is all messed up unless I take> > some steps > to rectify it.>
> > The problem is that raw_input> > returns a string, and you are testing >
>whether given is equal to> > integers. See if this helps make things
>clear:> > >>> data => > raw_input('Feed me!')> Feed me!42> >>>
>type(data)> <type 'str'>>> > >>> data == 42> !
> False> >>> int(data) == 42> True> >>>> > Best,> >> > Brian vdB > > >
>Adam,> > As you can see from the above, the way hotmail is formatting
>things > makes the conversation a bit tricky :-) I'm only willing to spend
>so > much time trying to sort through it, so I hope what follows helps.> >
> >>> data = raw_input("Feed me!")> Feed me!42> > This calls the builtin
>function raw_input with a parameter setting the > prompt to "Feed me!" and
>assigns the result to data. Since I hit 42 > and then enter,> > >>> data>
>'42'> > Notice the quotes around 42. They indicate that the value of data
>is a > string. That's what this tells us:> > >>> type(data)> <type 'str'>>
> > The string '42' is not the same as the integer 42:> > >>> type(42)>
><type 'int'>> >>> '42' == 42> False> > So, when you had an if test that
>was something like:> > if given == 1:> # Do stuff here> > the equality
>comparison was never going to work---given was a string > returned by
>raw_input and no string is ever equa!
> l to an integer.> > What I suggested was taking the string returned by
> raw_input and > feeding it to int() to transform it from a string to an
>integer, and > allow your if test to stand a chance:> > >>> data =
>raw_input("Feed me!")> Feed me!42> >>> if data == 42:> ... print
>"Matches!"> ...> >>> data = int(raw_input("Feed me!"))> Feed me!42> >>>
>if data == 42:> ... print "Matches!"> ...> Matches!> >>>> > There are
>other ways, for instance:> > >>> data = raw_input("Feed me!")> Feed me!42>
> >>> if data == '42':> ... print "Matches!"> ...> Matches!> >>>> >
>Here, instead of transforming data to an int and then testing for >
>equality with 42, I left data as a string and tested for equality with >
>the string '42'.> > The way calling int() is a bit better, I think. If the
>user enters a > few spaces, then 42 then a few more spaces, that way will
>still work:> > >>> data = int(raw_input("Feed me!"))> Feed me! 42> >>>
>if data == 42:> ... print "Matches!"> ...> Matches!> >>>> > because> >
> >>> int(' 42 ')> 42> >>>> > whereas> > !
> >>> ' 42 ' == '42'> False> > > I hope there is some help in there
>somewhere :-)> > Brian vdB
>_________________________________________________________________
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