Interactive Program Execution Environment 1.0

Interactive Program Execution Environment 1.0 is a CLI tool designed to automatically execute programs in response to changes in local files. It monitors directories, and when a file change is detected, the specified external program (with optional arguments) gets called.

Features

• Directory Monitoring: Monitors specified directories for file changes.
• Automatic Execution: Executes a configured external program automatically when a file change is detected.
• Interactive Mode: Allows users to interactively start, configure, and manage monitored programs.
• Customizable Settings: Configurable via a JSON settings file (interactive.json), allowing users to specify directories to monitor and the program to execute.
• Latency Handling: Configurable delay between file changes and command execution to avoid triggering too many executions in a short time.

Installation

Prerequisites

• Python 3.9 or higher
• Required Python libraries:
  • setproctitle – For setting the process title.
  • watchdog – For monitoring file changes.
  • argparse – For command-line argument parsing.
  • readline – For handling command history in interactive mode.

To install the required libraries, use pip:

pip install setproctitle watchdog

Linux

1. Place program file cast (without Python extension py) under ~/local/bin (Linux).

2. In the hidden file .bashrc located in the user's home directory, add the following,

   export PATH=$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH

   if this search path for executable scripts is not yet known.

Usage

1. Initial Setup

Before using the tool, initialize a configuration file (interactive.json) with the init subcommand:

python interactive.py init

or if stored in the local / system-wide bin folder (without file extension):

interactive init

This will create a configuration file with the following structure:

{
	"monitored_dirs": ["./"],
	"program": "echo",
	"args": "Hello, World!"
}

You can edit this file to specify which directories you want to monitor and which program to run when changes occur.

2. Start the Interactive Program

To start the interactive environment, run the following command:

python interactive.py

This will start the program and allow you to interactively manage the monitored directories and the program to execute.

Commands

Once in the interactive environment, you can use the following commands:

• start <command>: Set the program to execute and start monitoring directories for changes.
• apply <arguments>: Update the arguments for the program and execute it immediately.
• kill: Terminate any running processes.
• restart: Restart the monitoring and execution of the program.
• quit or exit: Exit the interactive environment.

Example of starting the program:

> start echo Hello, World!

The program will start monitoring the specified directories, and whenever a file is changed, the echo Hello, World! command will be executed.

Configuration File

The configuration file (interactive.json) allows users to specify the following:

• monitored_dirs: A list of directories to monitor for file changes.
• program: The external program to execute when a file change is detected.
• args: Arguments to pass to the external program.

Example:

{
  "monitored_dirs": ["./src", "./config"],
  "program": "python",
  "args": "process_data.py"
}

How It Works

1. File Monitoring: The program monitors changes in the directories specified in the configuration file. It watches for file modifications, creations, moves, and deletions.
2. Program Execution: When a file change is detected, the tool waits for a brief period (configurable latency) before executing the external program. This delay prevents executing the program multiple times for rapid changes.
3. Interactive Mode: Users can interactively manage the tool, change the program to execute, and monitor file changes in real time.

License

This software is released into the public domain under the Unlicense. You are free to use, modify, and distribute it as you wish.