--- __init__.py-orig	2006-11-10 09:16:57.000000000 -0600
+++ __init__.py	2006-11-20 11:04:39.000000000 -0600
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@
 """
 
 import sys, os, types, time, string, cStringIO, traceback
+from stat import ST_SIZE
 
 try:
     import codecs
@@ -760,21 +761,63 @@
     """
     A handler class which writes formatted logging records to disk files.
     """
-    def __init__(self, filename, mode='a', encoding=None):
+    def __init__(self, filename, mode='a', encoding=None, followfile=False):
         """
         Open the specified file and use it as the stream for logging.
         """
         if codecs is None:
             encoding = None
         if encoding is None:
+            self.encoding = None
             stream = open(filename, mode)
         else:
+            self.encoding = encoding
             stream = codecs.open(filename, mode, encoding)
         StreamHandler.__init__(self, stream)
         #keep the absolute path, otherwise derived classes which use this
         #may come a cropper when the current directory changes
         self.baseFilename = os.path.abspath(filename)
         self.mode = mode
+        self.followfile = followfile
+        if (self.followfile):
+           self.size = os.stat(self.baseFilename)[ST_SIZE]
+
+    def update_stream(self):
+       """Close the old stream and update with the new."""
+
+       self.stream.flush()
+       self.stream.close()
+       if (self.encoding):
+          self.stream = codecs.open(self.baseFilename, mode, self.encoding)
+       else:
+          self.stream = open(self.baseFilename, self.mode)
+
+    def emit(self, record):
+       """It's possible that the file being written to will be rolled-over
+       by an external application such as newsyslog on UNIX.  By default, the
+       FileHandler tracks the file descriptor, not the file.  If the original
+       file is renamed, the file associated with the descriptor is updated;
+       however, it's probably desired that continued updates to the file
+       associated with the original name take place.
+
+       If the followfile attribute evaluates to True, the code compares the
+       file size from a previous iteration to that of the current iteration
+       before the base class emit is called.  If a difference in st_size is
+       found, the current stream is closed and a new one, based on baseFilename,
+       is created, the file size is updated, and then the base class emit is
+       called.
+       """
+
+       if (self.followfile):
+          if (not os.path.exists(self.baseFilename)):
+             self.update_stream()
+          size = os.stat(self.baseFilename)[ST_SIZE]
+          if (size < self.size):
+             self.update_stream()
+          self.size = size 
+
+       # Call the base class emit.
+       StreamHandler.emit(self, record)
 
     def close(self):
         """
@@ -1224,6 +1267,11 @@
               that this argument is incompatible with 'filename' - if both
               are present, 'stream' is ignored.
 
+    followfile Specifies that the FileHandler watch the specified filename
+               for changes, e.g. renamed by some log rotation mechanism such
+               as newsyslog.  Read FileHandler emit() docstring for more
+               information.
+
     Note that you could specify a stream created using open(filename, mode)
     rather than passing the filename and mode in. However, it should be
     remembered that StreamHandler does not close its stream (since it may be
@@ -1234,7 +1282,8 @@
         filename = kwargs.get("filename")
         if filename:
             mode = kwargs.get("filemode", 'a')
-            hdlr = FileHandler(filename, mode)
+            followfile = kwargs.get("followfile", False)
+            hdlr = FileHandler(filename, mode, followfile=followfile)
         else:
             stream = kwargs.get("stream")
             hdlr = StreamHandler(stream)