Tell if python allows threading from within a python script

Question

Is there any way for a python script to detect whether or not it is allowed to use threading? I'm currently writing a wiki engine, and I would like for it to be able to take advantage of threading. However, not all hosting environments allow python scripts to use threading (for example, free accounts at PythonAnywhere), so I would like for the script to be able to detect this and disable threaded mode on such environments.

NOTE: I have already checked the question below, and it is not a duplicate of my question, as it addresses a different topic: Is there a way to tell if python was configured and compiled with "--with-threads --enable-shared"?

And `import thread` is not covered at all in the other link that I indicated. — Zauberin Stardreamer, Dec 05 '13 at 16:00
It is in the answer. I am testing this on PythonAnywhere right now; unfortunately, the import works there. Are you sure threading is disallowed? — Martijn Pieters, Dec 05 '13 at 16:02
Threading is allowed, provided that you have a paid account. — Zauberin Stardreamer, Dec 05 '13 at 16:02
I see no evidence of that in the help or marketing materials. I only see CPU limits. — Martijn Pieters, Dec 05 '13 at 16:04
Then I may be confused. However, I do know that they impose a limit on WSGI worker threads. — Zauberin Stardreamer, Dec 05 '13 at 16:06
That is something entirely different. That just means they configured the WSGI server that serves your web app with a limit based on your price tier. — Martijn Pieters, Dec 05 '13 at 16:08
Okay, based on a forum post, it appears that they do block threads for free accounts, and initially allowed them only for web developer accounts: https://www.pythonanywhere.com/forums/topic/432/ — Zauberin Stardreamer, Dec 05 '13 at 16:09
I can start a bash shell or a Python session, do `import thread` and use `thread.start_new_thread(lambda: None, ())` to start new threads just fine. — Martijn Pieters, Dec 05 '13 at 16:12

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Dec 05 '13 at 16:01

1

Add a try statement at the beginning of your script that asserts a piece of code that requires multithreading. If it fails, make a change in the except block to a logical indicator for whether or not the script should use multithreading.

answered Dec 05 '13 at 16:01

Michael

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Tell if python allows threading from within a python script

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