Programming a Python Do Nothing Machine
I'm writing a program in Python to create a Do Nothing Machine. Using a command-line, I'm coding a loop that will run until a particular file is removed. The loop will print out the number of seconds it has been running, and once the file is removed, it will print 'Need new IP' and create a new file to reset the counter. Follow my journey as I create this program and explore the possibilities of the Do Nothing Machine.
Exploring the Possibilities of a Python Do Nothing Machine
By Michael Levin
Monday, September 26, 2022
This is one of those cases where I really have to use this journal to help discipline myself to dig into my work. The current item is quite a challenge. It is a long-running SERP job that will require cycling IPs, but I lost my IP-cycling code and it won’t run Linux-side because it automates Windows desktop to click buttons on my desktop VPN software. Okay, so the solution is to break it in two. I don’t want to backslide on my Linux Jupyter progress but I don’t want to give up the power of automating things on a Windows desktop through pywinauto. Okay, that’s where to start.
Unlike most times, this starts coding in a command-line (as opposed to Jupyter). And we start with the simplest of loops:
from time import sleep
print("Starting")
while True:
print(".", end="", flush=True)
sleep(1)
YES! Documenting the process makes it love-worthy and now I can focus. Okay, the flush is necessary because a period is too small to register. But I will want a count of how many… what? Seconds? Yes! So here’s that version:
from time import sleep, time
print("Starting")
start = time()
while True:
print(f"{int(time() - start)} ", end="", flush=True)
sleep(1)
And so it should only ever continue while a particular file is in location. When it is removed, the loop should stop. Okay, this is my first thought.
from time import sleep, time
from pathlib import Path
print("Starting")
start = time()
while True:
if Path("goodip.txt").is_file():
print(f"{int(time() - start)} ", end="", flush=True)
sleep(1)
else:
print("Need new IP")
break
I’m not so sure the loop should stop. Rather, the new IP should be issued and a new start time assigned. The number should always represent the number of seconds since getting issued the new IP. I used the “touch” program to create goodip.txt so I can recreate it easily and should test what removing it does. Oh, removing it should put it back and reset the counter! Haha! It’s a do-nothing machine. Okay, here’s my Do Nothing machine. Every time you delete goodip.txt it restarts the timer at zero and creates a new goodip.txt file. Woot! Okay, the rest is just pywinauto stuff.
from time import sleep, time
from pathlib import Path
print("Starting")
start = time()
while True:
if Path("goodip.txt").exists():
print(f"{int(time() - start)} ", end="", flush=True)
sleep(1)
else:
print("Need new IP")
start = time()
with open("goodip.txt", "w+") as fh:
fh.write("foo")