python, threading and a radio timer

[ArdPy]

Renato wrote:
> Dear all,
>
> I found this nifty article on how to record your favourite radio show
> using cron and mplayer:
> http://grimthing.com/archives/2004/05/20/recording-streaming-audio-with-mplayer/
>
> Because I couldn't get the date in the filename (and was too lazy to
> look into sh/bash manuals), I decided to use Python. It was a good
> choice, because I decided to improve the timer - learning some more
> Python along the way!
>
> So, the idea is:
> - cron runs the script at a specific time
> - the script starts mplayer, and will keep checking the clock until
> it's time to kill mplayer
> - after mplayer has exited, oggenc is started to turn the raw WAV into
> ogg
> - and finally the remaining WAV is deleted
>
> This basic setting is quite easy, and I used os.spawnvp(os.P_WAIT,...),
> along with another CRON entry to kill mplayer.
>
> But then I got more ambitious: I wanted the script to keep checking if
> mplayer was alive - in case the connection goes down. Moreover, I would
> rather have the script stop mplayer than cron.
>
> At this point, I thought I should get some professional help... :) What
> is the right way to go? Would threads be overkill? If so, where can I
> go about looking for process control/management without delving into
> complex daemon architectures?
>
> So, rather than asking for code, I'm looking for guidance - this is a
> didactic experience!
>
> Cheers,
>
> Renato

I would suggest you take a look at Python 'commands' module. The module
lets you run Unix commands by taking them as parameters to function
calls. That is all I can say with my level of expertise.