def program_is_alive(program_name, pid_files_dir=None):
 pid = get_pid_from_file(program_name, pid_files_dir)
 if (pid is None):
  return False
 return pid_is_alive(pid)

def program_is_alive ( program_name , pid_files_dir = None ) : pid = get_pid_from_file ( program_name , pid_files_dir ) if ( pid is None ) : return False return pid_is_alive ( pid )
checks if the process is alive and not in zombie state .