Treffer: Python Eases Maintenance.

The article focuses on the Python scripting language. It is gaining widespread acceptance as a tool used in the configuration and maintenance of Linux. Python has been compared to Practical Extraction and Report Language or PERL in terms of its applicability, but it has branched out into the application space. One of the unique aspects of Python is that it constrains the user to a specific indentation format. This makes reading the program and short scripts a less time-consuming proposition when compared to other languages. Solution providers may find it useful to spend some time familiarizing themselves with Python, as it can greatly ease many tasks commonly performed to maintain Linux systems. If you are a solution provider maintaining several systems at a client site and you wish to be more proactive about monitoring application uptime, a simple Python script can be used to query the status of an application either through directly accessing the application, by reading a process-identification file or by other methods depending on the application. Python also contains an interactive shell. You may enter the Python shell by typing python at a shell prompt, provided it is installed on your system. INSETS: Python's Background;What's At the Library.