reading shell output in parallel

[Steve]

Hi,

I'm pretty new to python.  I am trying to write a simple application
that can read the stdout output from a command in linux.  I've tried
using x = commands.getstatusoutput() but this only gives back the
output in x after finished executing.  I would like to read the
contents as it is being shown on the screen and then send parts of
this info over a simple client/server setup.  I have the client/server
part set up already.

Can anyone suggest a simple way to do this?  

Thanks for your help, I appreciate it.

Steve