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

[jmdeschamps at gmail.com]

This is not directly what the OP wanted in regards to Perl, but to see
what one could do if one needed to change the name of the running
program, I wrote this:
## START PROGRAM
import sys
import os.path
import shutil
import os

def testChangingName(appname):
    hopedfornameis = appname
    mylongnameis = sys.argv[0]
    mynameis = os.path.basename(mylongnameis)
    basenameis  = os.path.dirname(mylongnameis)
    if  mynameis != hopedfornameis:
        shutil.copyfile(mynameis, basenameis+"/"+hopedfornameis)

os.spawnv(os.P_NOWAIT,"c:/python23/python.exe",('c:/python23/python.exe',hopedfornameis))
        sys.exit()

if __name__ == "__main__":
    print sys.argv[0]
    testChangingName("testNameIsChanged.py")
    s=raw_input("All's well!")
    s=raw_input("Now do something useful")

## END PROGRAM

Since I don't know the circumstance in which the OP wanted to change
the name, I really don't know what caveats one should look out for
here.
I would be curious to know when such a function could come in handy.

Jean-Marc