adjust embed_kernel signature

* `**kwargs` are passed to KernelApp for config
* add docstring
* IPython.zmq.ipapp.embed_kernel is now fully functional
* allow re-entry to kernel

IPython/__init__.py

@@ -1,70 +1,86 b''
 # encoding: utf-8
 """
 IPython: tools for interactive and parallel computing in Python.
 
 http://ipython.org
 """
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 #  Copyright (c) 2008-2011, IPython Development Team.
 #  Copyright (c) 2001-2007, Fernando Perez <[e-mail]>
 #  Copyright (c) 2001, Janko Hauser <[e-mail]>
 #  Copyright (c) 2001, Nathaniel Gray <[e-mail]>
 #
 #  Distributed under the terms of the Modified BSD License.
 #
 #  The full license is in the file COPYING.txt, distributed with this software.
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Imports
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 from __future__ import absolute_import
 
 import os
 import sys
 
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Setup everything
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 # Don't forget to also update setup.py when this changes!
 if sys.version[0:3] < '2.6':
     raise ImportError('Python Version 2.6 or above is required for IPython.')
 
 # Make it easy to import extensions - they are always directly on pythonpath.
 # Therefore, non-IPython modules can be added to extensions directory.
 # This should probably be in ipapp.py.
 sys.path.append(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), "extensions"))
 
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Setup the top level names
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 from .config.loader import Config
 from .core import release
 from .core.application import Application
 from .frontend.terminal.embed import embed
 
 from .core.error import TryNext
 from .core.interactiveshell import InteractiveShell
 from .testing import test
 from .utils.sysinfo import sys_info
 from .utils.frame import extract_module_locals
 
 # Release data
 __author__ = ''
 for author, email in release.authors.itervalues():
     __author__ += author + ' <' + email + '>\n'
 __license__  = release.license
 __version__  = release.version
 
-def embed_kernel(module=None, local_ns=None):
-    """Call this to embed an IPython kernel at the current point in your program. """
+def embed_kernel(module=None, local_ns=None, **kwargs):
+    """Embed and start an IPython kernel in a given scope.
+    
+    Parameters
+    ----------
+    module : ModuleType, optional
+        The module to load into IPython globals (default: caller)
+    local_ns : dict, optional
+        The namespace to load into IPython user namespace (default: caller)
+    
+    kwargs : various, optional
+        Further keyword args are relayed to the KernelApp constructor,
+        allowing configuration of the Kernel.  Will only have an effect
+        on the first embed_kernel call for a given process.
+    
+    """
+    
     (caller_module, caller_locals) = extract_module_locals(1)
     if module is None:
         module = caller_module
     if local_ns is None:
         local_ns = caller_locals
+    
     # Only import .zmq when we really need it
     from .zmq.ipkernel import embed_kernel as real_embed_kernel
-    real_embed_kernel(module, local_ns)
+    real_embed_kernel(module=module, local_ns=local_ns, **kwargs)

IPython/zmq/ipkernel.py

@@ -1,661 +1,700 b''
 #!/usr/bin/env python
 """A simple interactive kernel that talks to a frontend over 0MQ.
 
 Things to do:
 
 * Implement `set_parent` logic. Right before doing exec, the Kernel should
   call set_parent on all the PUB objects with the message about to be executed.
 * Implement random port and security key logic.
 * Implement control messages.
 * Implement event loop and poll version.
 """
 
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Imports
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 from __future__ import print_function
 
 # Standard library imports.
 import __builtin__
 import atexit
 import sys
 import time
 import traceback
 import logging
 from signal import (
         signal, default_int_handler, SIGINT, SIG_IGN
 )
 # System library imports.
 import zmq
 
 # Local imports.
 from IPython.core import pylabtools
 from IPython.config.configurable import Configurable
 from IPython.config.application import boolean_flag, catch_config_error
 from IPython.core.application import ProfileDir
 from IPython.core.error import StdinNotImplementedError
 from IPython.core.shellapp import (
     InteractiveShellApp, shell_flags, shell_aliases
 )
 from IPython.utils import io
 from IPython.utils import py3compat
+from IPython.utils.frame import extract_module_locals
 from IPython.utils.jsonutil import json_clean
 from IPython.utils.traitlets import (
     Any, Instance, Float, Dict, CaselessStrEnum
 )
 
 from entry_point import base_launch_kernel
 from kernelapp import KernelApp, kernel_flags, kernel_aliases
 from session import Session, Message
 from zmqshell import ZMQInteractiveShell
 
 
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Main kernel class
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 class Kernel(Configurable):
 
     #---------------------------------------------------------------------------
     # Kernel interface
     #---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
     # attribute to override with a GUI
     eventloop = Any(None)
 
     shell = Instance('IPython.core.interactiveshell.InteractiveShellABC')
     session = Instance(Session)
     profile_dir = Instance('IPython.core.profiledir.ProfileDir')
     shell_socket = Instance('zmq.Socket')
     iopub_socket = Instance('zmq.Socket')
     stdin_socket = Instance('zmq.Socket')
     log = Instance(logging.Logger)
+    
     user_module = Instance('types.ModuleType')
+    def _user_module_changed(self, name, old, new):
+        if self.shell is not None:
+            self.shell.user_module = new
+    
     user_ns     = Dict(default_value=None)
+    def _user_ns_changed(self, name, old, new):
+        if self.shell is not None:
+            self.shell.user_ns = new
+            self.shell.init_user_ns()
 
     # Private interface
 
     # Time to sleep after flushing the stdout/err buffers in each execute
     # cycle.  While this introduces a hard limit on the minimal latency of the
     # execute cycle, it helps prevent output synchronization problems for
     # clients.
     # Units are in seconds.  The minimum zmq latency on local host is probably
     # ~150 microseconds, set this to 500us for now.  We may need to increase it
     # a little if it's not enough after more interactive testing.
     _execute_sleep = Float(0.0005, config=True)
 
     # Frequency of the kernel's event loop.
     # Units are in seconds, kernel subclasses for GUI toolkits may need to
     # adapt to milliseconds.
     _poll_interval = Float(0.05, config=True)
 
     # If the shutdown was requested over the network, we leave here the
     # necessary reply message so it can be sent by our registered atexit
     # handler.  This ensures that the reply is only sent to clients truly at
     # the end of our shutdown process (which happens after the underlying
     # IPython shell's own shutdown).
     _shutdown_message = None
 
     # This is a dict of port number that the kernel is listening on. It is set
     # by record_ports and used by connect_request.
     _recorded_ports = Dict()
 
 
 
     def __init__(self, **kwargs):
         super(Kernel, self).__init__(**kwargs)
 
         # Before we even start up the shell, register *first* our exit handlers
         # so they come before the shell's
         atexit.register(self._at_shutdown)
 
         # Initialize the InteractiveShell subclass
         self.shell = ZMQInteractiveShell.instance(config=self.config,
             profile_dir = self.profile_dir,
             user_module = self.user_module,
             user_ns     = self.user_ns,
         )
         self.shell.displayhook.session = self.session
         self.shell.displayhook.pub_socket = self.iopub_socket
         self.shell.display_pub.session = self.session
         self.shell.display_pub.pub_socket = self.iopub_socket
 
         # TMP - hack while developing
         self.shell._reply_content = None
 
         # Build dict of handlers for message types
         msg_types = [ 'execute_request', 'complete_request',
                       'object_info_request', 'history_request',
                       'connect_request', 'shutdown_request']
         self.handlers = {}
         for msg_type in msg_types:
             self.handlers[msg_type] = getattr(self, msg_type)
 
     def do_one_iteration(self):
         """Do one iteration of the kernel's evaluation loop.
         """
         try:
             ident,msg = self.session.recv(self.shell_socket, zmq.NOBLOCK)
         except Exception:
             self.log.warn("Invalid Message:", exc_info=True)
             return
         if msg is None:
             return
 
         msg_type = msg['header']['msg_type']
 
         # This assert will raise in versions of zeromq 2.0.7 and lesser.
         # We now require 2.0.8 or above, so we can uncomment for safety.
         # print(ident,msg, file=sys.__stdout__)
         assert ident is not None, "Missing message part."
 
         # Print some info about this message and leave a '--->' marker, so it's
         # easier to trace visually the message chain when debugging.  Each
         # handler prints its message at the end.
         self.log.debug('\n*** MESSAGE TYPE:'+str(msg_type)+'***')
         self.log.debug('   Content: '+str(msg['content'])+'\n   --->\n   ')
 
         # Find and call actual handler for message
         handler = self.handlers.get(msg_type, None)
         if handler is None:
             self.log.error("UNKNOWN MESSAGE TYPE:" +str(msg))
         else:
             handler(ident, msg)
 
         # Check whether we should exit, in case the incoming message set the
         # exit flag on
         if self.shell.exit_now:
             self.log.debug('\nExiting IPython kernel...')
             # We do a normal, clean exit, which allows any actions registered
             # via atexit (such as history saving) to take place.
             sys.exit(0)
 
 
     def start(self):
         """ Start the kernel main loop.
         """
         # a KeyboardInterrupt (SIGINT) can occur on any python statement, so
         # let's ignore (SIG_IGN) them until we're in a place to handle them properly
         signal(SIGINT,SIG_IGN)
         poller = zmq.Poller()
         poller.register(self.shell_socket, zmq.POLLIN)
         # loop while self.eventloop has not been overridden
         while self.eventloop is None:
             try:
                 # scale by extra factor of 10, because there is no
                 # reason for this to be anything less than ~ 0.1s
                 # since it is a real poller and will respond
                 # to events immediately
 
                 # double nested try/except, to properly catch KeyboardInterrupt
                 # due to pyzmq Issue #130
                 try:
                     poller.poll(10*1000*self._poll_interval)
                     # restore raising of KeyboardInterrupt
                     signal(SIGINT, default_int_handler)
                     self.do_one_iteration()
                 except:
                     raise
                 finally:
                     # prevent raising of KeyboardInterrupt
                     signal(SIGINT,SIG_IGN)
             except KeyboardInterrupt:
                 # Ctrl-C shouldn't crash the kernel
                 io.raw_print("KeyboardInterrupt caught in kernel")
         # stop ignoring sigint, now that we are out of our own loop,
         # we don't want to prevent future code from handling it
         signal(SIGINT, default_int_handler)
         if self.eventloop is not None:
             try:
                 self.eventloop(self)
             except KeyboardInterrupt:
                 # Ctrl-C shouldn't crash the kernel
                 io.raw_print("KeyboardInterrupt caught in kernel")
 
 
     def record_ports(self, ports):
         """Record the ports that this kernel is using.
 
         The creator of the Kernel instance must call this methods if they
         want the :meth:`connect_request` method to return the port numbers.
         """
         self._recorded_ports = ports
 
     #---------------------------------------------------------------------------
     # Kernel request handlers
     #---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
     def _publish_pyin(self, code, parent):
         """Publish the code request on the pyin stream."""
 
         self.session.send(self.iopub_socket, u'pyin', {u'code':code},
                           parent=parent)
 
     def execute_request(self, ident, parent):
 
         self.session.send(self.iopub_socket,
                           u'status',
                           {u'execution_state':u'busy'},
                           parent=parent )
         
         try:
             content = parent[u'content']
             code = content[u'code']
             silent = content[u'silent']
         except:
             self.log.error("Got bad msg: ")
             self.log.error(str(Message(parent)))
             return
 
         shell = self.shell # we'll need this a lot here
 
         # Replace raw_input. Note that is not sufficient to replace
         # raw_input in the user namespace.
         if content.get('allow_stdin', False):
             raw_input = lambda prompt='': self._raw_input(prompt, ident, parent)
         else:
             raw_input = lambda prompt='' : self._no_raw_input()
 
         if py3compat.PY3:
             __builtin__.input = raw_input
         else:
             __builtin__.raw_input = raw_input
 
         # Set the parent message of the display hook and out streams.
         shell.displayhook.set_parent(parent)
         shell.display_pub.set_parent(parent)
         sys.stdout.set_parent(parent)
         sys.stderr.set_parent(parent)
 
         # Re-broadcast our input for the benefit of listening clients, and
         # start computing output
         if not silent:
             self._publish_pyin(code, parent)
 
         reply_content = {}
         try:
             if silent:
                 # run_code uses 'exec' mode, so no displayhook will fire, and it
                 # doesn't call logging or history manipulations.  Print
                 # statements in that code will obviously still execute.
                 shell.run_code(code)
             else:
                 # FIXME: the shell calls the exception handler itself.
                 shell.run_cell(code, store_history=True)
         except:
             status = u'error'
             # FIXME: this code right now isn't being used yet by default,
             # because the run_cell() call above directly fires off exception
             # reporting.  This code, therefore, is only active in the scenario
             # where runlines itself has an unhandled exception.  We need to
             # uniformize this, for all exception construction to come from a
             # single location in the codbase.
             etype, evalue, tb = sys.exc_info()
             tb_list = traceback.format_exception(etype, evalue, tb)
             reply_content.update(shell._showtraceback(etype, evalue, tb_list))
         else:
             status = u'ok'
 
         reply_content[u'status'] = status
 
         # Return the execution counter so clients can display prompts
         reply_content['execution_count'] = shell.execution_count -1
 
         # FIXME - fish exception info out of shell, possibly left there by
         # runlines.  We'll need to clean up this logic later.
         if shell._reply_content is not None:
             reply_content.update(shell._reply_content)
             # reset after use
             shell._reply_content = None
 
         # At this point, we can tell whether the main code execution succeeded
         # or not.  If it did, we proceed to evaluate user_variables/expressions
         if reply_content['status'] == 'ok':
             reply_content[u'user_variables'] = \
                          shell.user_variables(content[u'user_variables'])
             reply_content[u'user_expressions'] = \
                          shell.user_expressions(content[u'user_expressions'])
         else:
             # If there was an error, don't even try to compute variables or
             # expressions
             reply_content[u'user_variables'] = {}
             reply_content[u'user_expressions'] = {}
 
         # Payloads should be retrieved regardless of outcome, so we can both
         # recover partial output (that could have been generated early in a
         # block, before an error) and clear the payload system always.
         reply_content[u'payload'] = shell.payload_manager.read_payload()
         # Be agressive about clearing the payload because we don't want
         # it to sit in memory until the next execute_request comes in.
         shell.payload_manager.clear_payload()
 
         # Flush output before sending the reply.
         sys.stdout.flush()
         sys.stderr.flush()
         # FIXME: on rare occasions, the flush doesn't seem to make it to the
         # clients... This seems to mitigate the problem, but we definitely need
         # to better understand what's going on.
         if self._execute_sleep:
             time.sleep(self._execute_sleep)
 
         # Send the reply.
         reply_content = json_clean(reply_content)
         reply_msg = self.session.send(self.shell_socket, u'execute_reply',
                                       reply_content, parent, ident=ident)
         self.log.debug(str(reply_msg))
 
         if reply_msg['content']['status'] == u'error':
             self._abort_queue()
 
         self.session.send(self.iopub_socket,
                           u'status',
                           {u'execution_state':u'idle'},
                           parent=parent )
 
     def complete_request(self, ident, parent):
         txt, matches = self._complete(parent)
         matches = {'matches' : matches,
                    'matched_text' : txt,
                    'status' : 'ok'}
         matches = json_clean(matches)
         completion_msg = self.session.send(self.shell_socket, 'complete_reply',
                                            matches, parent, ident)
         self.log.debug(str(completion_msg))
 
     def object_info_request(self, ident, parent):
         object_info = self.shell.object_inspect(parent['content']['oname'])
         # Before we send this object over, we scrub it for JSON usage
         oinfo = json_clean(object_info)
         msg = self.session.send(self.shell_socket, 'object_info_reply',
                                 oinfo, parent, ident)
         self.log.debug(msg)
 
     def history_request(self, ident, parent):
         # We need to pull these out, as passing **kwargs doesn't work with
         # unicode keys before Python 2.6.5.
         hist_access_type = parent['content']['hist_access_type']
         raw = parent['content']['raw']
         output = parent['content']['output']
         if hist_access_type == 'tail':
             n = parent['content']['n']
             hist = self.shell.history_manager.get_tail(n, raw=raw, output=output,
                                                             include_latest=True)
 
         elif hist_access_type == 'range':
             session = parent['content']['session']
             start = parent['content']['start']
             stop = parent['content']['stop']
             hist = self.shell.history_manager.get_range(session, start, stop,
                                                         raw=raw, output=output)
 
         elif hist_access_type == 'search':
             pattern = parent['content']['pattern']
             hist = self.shell.history_manager.search(pattern, raw=raw,
                                                      output=output) 
 
         else:
             hist = []
         content = {'history' : list(hist)}
         content = json_clean(content)
         msg = self.session.send(self.shell_socket, 'history_reply',
                                 content, parent, ident)
         self.log.debug(str(msg))
 
     def connect_request(self, ident, parent):
         if self._recorded_ports is not None:
             content = self._recorded_ports.copy()
         else:
             content = {}
         msg = self.session.send(self.shell_socket, 'connect_reply',
                                 content, parent, ident)
         self.log.debug(msg)
 
     def shutdown_request(self, ident, parent):
         self.shell.exit_now = True
         self._shutdown_message = self.session.msg(u'shutdown_reply',
                                                   parent['content'], parent)
         sys.exit(0)
 
     #---------------------------------------------------------------------------
     # Protected interface
     #---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
     def _abort_queue(self):
         while True:
             try:
                 ident,msg = self.session.recv(self.shell_socket, zmq.NOBLOCK)
             except Exception:
                 self.log.warn("Invalid Message:", exc_info=True)
                 continue
             if msg is None:
                 break
             else:
                 assert ident is not None, \
                        "Unexpected missing message part."
 
             self.log.debug("Aborting:\n"+str(Message(msg)))
             msg_type = msg['header']['msg_type']
             reply_type = msg_type.split('_')[0] + '_reply'
             reply_msg = self.session.send(self.shell_socket, reply_type,
                     {'status' : 'aborted'}, msg, ident=ident)
             self.log.debug(reply_msg)
             # We need to wait a bit for requests to come in. This can probably
             # be set shorter for true asynchronous clients.
             time.sleep(0.1)
 
     def _no_raw_input(self):
         """Raise StdinNotImplentedError if active frontend doesn't support
         stdin."""
         raise StdinNotImplementedError("raw_input was called, but this "
                                        "frontend does not support stdin.") 
         
     def _raw_input(self, prompt, ident, parent):
         # Flush output before making the request.
         sys.stderr.flush()
         sys.stdout.flush()
 
         # Send the input request.
         content = json_clean(dict(prompt=prompt))
         self.session.send(self.stdin_socket, u'input_request', content, parent,
                           ident=ident)
 
         # Await a response.
         while True:
             try:
                 ident, reply = self.session.recv(self.stdin_socket, 0)
             except Exception:
                 self.log.warn("Invalid Message:", exc_info=True)
             else:
                 break
         try:
             value = reply['content']['value']
         except:
             self.log.error("Got bad raw_input reply: ")
             self.log.error(str(Message(parent)))
             value = ''
         if value == '\x04':
             # EOF
             raise EOFError
         return value
 
     def _complete(self, msg):
         c = msg['content']
         try:
             cpos = int(c['cursor_pos'])
         except:
             # If we don't get something that we can convert to an integer, at
             # least attempt the completion guessing the cursor is at the end of
             # the text, if there's any, and otherwise of the line
             cpos = len(c['text'])
             if cpos==0:
                 cpos = len(c['line'])
         return self.shell.complete(c['text'], c['line'], cpos)
 
     def _object_info(self, context):
         symbol, leftover = self._symbol_from_context(context)
         if symbol is not None and not leftover:
             doc = getattr(symbol, '__doc__', '')
         else:
             doc = ''
         object_info = dict(docstring = doc)
         return object_info
 
     def _symbol_from_context(self, context):
         if not context:
             return None, context
 
         base_symbol_string = context[0]
         symbol = self.shell.user_ns.get(base_symbol_string, None)
         if symbol is None:
             symbol = __builtin__.__dict__.get(base_symbol_string, None)
         if symbol is None:
             return None, context
 
         context = context[1:]
         for i, name in enumerate(context):
             new_symbol = getattr(symbol, name, None)
             if new_symbol is None:
                 return symbol, context[i:]
             else:
                 symbol = new_symbol
 
         return symbol, []
 
     def _at_shutdown(self):
         """Actions taken at shutdown by the kernel, called by python's atexit.
         """
         # io.rprint("Kernel at_shutdown") # dbg
         if self._shutdown_message is not None:
             self.session.send(self.shell_socket, self._shutdown_message)
             self.session.send(self.iopub_socket, self._shutdown_message)
             self.log.debug(str(self._shutdown_message))
             # A very short sleep to give zmq time to flush its message buffers
             # before Python truly shuts down.
             time.sleep(0.01)
 
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Aliases and Flags for the IPKernelApp
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 flags = dict(kernel_flags)
 flags.update(shell_flags)
 
 addflag = lambda *args: flags.update(boolean_flag(*args))
 
 flags['pylab'] = (
     {'IPKernelApp' : {'pylab' : 'auto'}},
     """Pre-load matplotlib and numpy for interactive use with
     the default matplotlib backend."""
 )
 
 aliases = dict(kernel_aliases)
 aliases.update(shell_aliases)
 
 # it's possible we don't want short aliases for *all* of these:
 aliases.update(dict(
     pylab='IPKernelApp.pylab',
 ))
 
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # The IPKernelApp class
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 class IPKernelApp(KernelApp, InteractiveShellApp):
     name = 'ipkernel'
 
     aliases = Dict(aliases)
     flags = Dict(flags)
     classes = [Kernel, ZMQInteractiveShell, ProfileDir, Session]
+    
     # configurables
     pylab = CaselessStrEnum(['tk', 'qt', 'wx', 'gtk', 'osx', 'inline', 'auto'],
         config=True,
         help="""Pre-load matplotlib and numpy for interactive use,
         selecting a particular matplotlib backend and loop integration.
         """
     )
     
     @catch_config_error
     def initialize(self, argv=None):
         super(IPKernelApp, self).initialize(argv)
         self.init_shell()
         self.init_extensions()
         self.init_code()
 
     def init_kernel(self):
 
         kernel = Kernel(config=self.config, session=self.session,
                                 shell_socket=self.shell_socket,
                                 iopub_socket=self.iopub_socket,
                                 stdin_socket=self.stdin_socket,
                                 log=self.log,
                                 profile_dir=self.profile_dir,
-                                user_module=self.user_module,
-                                user_ns=self.user_ns,
         )
         self.kernel = kernel
         kernel.record_ports(self.ports)
         shell = kernel.shell
         if self.pylab:
             try:
                 gui, backend = pylabtools.find_gui_and_backend(self.pylab)
                 shell.enable_pylab(gui, import_all=self.pylab_import_all)
             except Exception:
                 self.log.error("Pylab initialization failed", exc_info=True)
                 # print exception straight to stdout, because normally 
                 # _showtraceback associates the reply with an execution, 
                 # which means frontends will never draw it, as this exception 
                 # is not associated with any execute request.
                 
                 # replace pyerr-sending traceback with stdout
                 _showtraceback = shell._showtraceback
                 def print_tb(etype, evalue, stb):
                     print ("Error initializing pylab, pylab mode will not "
                            "be active", file=io.stderr)
                     print (shell.InteractiveTB.stb2text(stb), file=io.stdout)
                 shell._showtraceback = print_tb
                 
                 # send the traceback over stdout
                 shell.showtraceback(tb_offset=0)
                 
                 # restore proper _showtraceback method
                 shell._showtraceback = _showtraceback
                 
 
     def init_shell(self):
         self.shell = self.kernel.shell
         self.shell.configurables.append(self)
 
 
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Kernel main and launch functions
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 def launch_kernel(*args, **kwargs):
     """Launches a localhost IPython kernel, binding to the specified ports.
 
     This function simply calls entry_point.base_launch_kernel with the right
     first command to start an ipkernel.  See base_launch_kernel for arguments.
 
     Returns
     -------
     A tuple of form:
         (kernel_process, shell_port, iopub_port, stdin_port, hb_port)
     where kernel_process is a Popen object and the ports are integers.
     """
     return base_launch_kernel('from IPython.zmq.ipkernel import main; main()',
                               *args, **kwargs)
 
-def embed_kernel(module, local_ns):
-    app = IPKernelApp.instance(user_module=module, user_ns=local_ns)
+
+def embed_kernel(module=None, local_ns=None, **kwargs):
+    """Embed and start an IPython kernel in a given scope.
+    
+    Parameters
+    ----------
+    module : ModuleType, optional
+        The module to load into IPython globals (default: caller)
+    local_ns : dict, optional
+        The namespace to load into IPython user namespace (default: caller)
+    
+    kwargs : various, optional
+        Further keyword args are relayed to the KernelApp constructor,
+        allowing configuration of the Kernel.  Will only have an effect
+        on the first embed_kernel call for a given process.
+    
+    """
+    # get the app if it exists, or set it up if it doesn't
+    if IPKernelApp.initialized():
+        app = IPKernelApp.instance()
+    else:
+        app = IPKernelApp.instance(**kwargs)
     app.initialize([])
+
+    # load the calling scope if not given
+    (caller_module, caller_locals) = extract_module_locals(1)
+    if module is None:
+        module = caller_module
+    if local_ns is None:
+        local_ns = caller_locals
+    
+    app.kernel.user_module = module
+    app.kernel.user_ns = local_ns
     app.start()
 
 def main():
     """Run an IPKernel as an application"""
     app = IPKernelApp.instance()
     app.initialize()
     app.start()
 
 
 if __name__ == '__main__':
     main()