How to avoid multiple instances of a program?

Question

I need to find a right way to prevent two running instances of my (Python) program. I am currently using the following method.

On Windows,

os.popen(\         


        

Answer 1

There are numerous ways:

1. have an "instance file" in /var/run or similar (cross-platform)
2. use a fixed socket (cross-platform)
3. use DBus to register a name (linux)

What you need is a service (external to your application) that manages a namespace where unique ids are available & enforced.