The resource module

(Unix only, Optional). This module is used to query or modify the system resource limits.

Example: Using the resource module to query current settings

# File: resource-example-1.py

import resource

print "usage stats", "=>", resource.getrusage(resource.RUSAGE_SELF)
print "max cpu", "=>", resource.getrlimit(resource.RLIMIT_CPU)
print "max data", "=>", resource.getrlimit(resource.RLIMIT_DATA)
print "max processes", "=>", resource.getrlimit(resource.RLIMIT_NPROC)
print "page size", "=>", resource.getpagesize()

usage stats => (0.03, 0.02, 0, 0, 0, 0, 75, 168, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0)
max cpu => (2147483647, 2147483647)
max data => (2147483647, 2147483647)
max processes => (256, 256)
page size => 4096

Example: Using the resource module to limit resources

# File: resource-example-2.py

import resource

resource.setrlimit(resource.RLIMIT_CPU, (0, 1))

# pretend we're busy
for i in range(1000):
    for j in range(1000):
        for k in range(1000):
            pass

CPU time limit exceeded