def timeout(func, args=(), kwargs={}, timeout_duration=1, default=None): import threading class InterruptableThread(threading.Thread): def __init__(self): threading.Thread.__init__(self) self.result = None def run(self): try: self.result = func(*args, **kwargs) except: self.result = default it = InterruptableThread() it.start() it.join(timeout_duration) if it.isAlive(): return default else: return it.result