ZenPacks.zenoss.PythonCollector-5.0.5_1.8.0dev-4.lbn19.noarch

This ZenPack provides a new Python data source type. It also provides a new zenpython collector daemon that is responsible for collecting these data sources.

The goal of the Python data source type is to replicate some of the standard COMMAND data source type's functionality without requiring a new shell and shell subprocess to be spawned each time the data source is collected. The COMMAND data source type is infinitely flexible, but because of the shell and subprocess spawning, it's performance and ability to pass data into the collection script are limited. The Python data source type circumvents the need to spawn subprocesses by forcing the collection code to be asynchronous using the Twisted library. It circumvents the problem with passing data into the collection logic by being able to pass any basic Python data type without the need to worry about shell escaping issues.

The Python data source type is intended to be used in one of two ways. The first way is directly through the creation of Python data sources through the web interface or in a ZenPack. When used in this way, it is the responsibility of the data source creator to implement the required Python class specified in the data source's Python Class Name property field. The second way the Python data source can be used is as a base class for another data source type. Used in this way, the ZenPack author will create a subclass of PythonDataSource to provide a higher-level functionality to the user. The user is then not responsible for writing a Python class to collect and process data.