[Pyfltk-user] Timer and subprocess problems.

[Benjamin D. <ben...@py...>]

I am using the binary Linux pyfltk v1.1.4 build from the sourceforge
website together with v2.5.2 of Python and v1.1.9 of fltk to create a
GUI wrapper around a command line process to use hdparm to securely
erase harddrives.

To provide user feedback I am using Fl_repeat_timeout and then
Fl.add_timeout to update a status bar and provide an animated image.
Separate threads are called by the main program to process each drive
using thread.start_new_thread().  The threads then invoke the command
line utilities using commands.getstatusoutput().  The utilities do not
immediately return - especially when falling back to the wipe function
- and this causes the script to hang and the progress bar / animation
to freeze giving the user the impression that it has hung.  I have
tried replacing commands.getstatusoutput() with subprocess.call() but
the problem persists.

This is my first time using Python and fltk.  I've tried searching for
more information on python threads but pretty much drawn a blank.
Consequently, I should be grateful for any advice on how to ensure
that the timer function continues to operate.

Ben