Detecting multiple application instances

[Geert Bevin <gbevin thunderstorms org>]

Hello,

I'm wondering what would be the best way to do this. I'd like my utility
to behave differently when it's being launched more than once. Instead
of starting an entirely new instance, it should detect that it's already
running for a particular user (in a specific gnome session) and make the
first instance open up a new window. This behaviour is needed since
there is communication and shared data between the windows. It's a small
filemanager and so the commands sometimes originate from one window to
perform a certain action in another one.

I could setup up a server which does all the command actions and holds
all the shared data, but I'd like it to be a small, one executable, easy
to install filemanager.

Any ideas about this will be greatly appreciated,

Thanks,

Geert.

-- 
Geert Bevin - gbevin@thunderstorms.org
Montenegrostraat 11      1060 Brussels
BELGIUM                   0477/302.599
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