Title: Monitoring Pod Status in Kubernetes (K8s)

Introduction:
Kubernetes (K8s) is a container orchestration platform that helps in managing and deploying containerized applications at scale. Monitoring the status of Pods, which are the smallest and most basic units in Kubernetes, is crucial to ensure the health and availability of your applications. In this article, we will guide you on how to monitor the Pod status within a Kubernetes cluster.

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction to Kubernetes Pod monitoring
2. Steps to monitor Pod status
a. Step 1: Connect to the Kubernetes cluster
b. Step 2: Retrieve Pod information
c. Step 3: Monitor Pod status
3. Code examples
a. Example 1: Monitoring Pod status using kubectl
b. Example 2: Monitoring Pod status programmatically using Kubernetes client libraries
4. Conclusion

1. Introduction to Kubernetes Pod monitoring:
Monitoring the status of Pods is essential to ensure the availability and proper functioning of applications running within a Kubernetes cluster. Pod status can provide crucial information such as whether the Pod is running, starting, or failed. By monitoring Pod status, you can detect and troubleshoot issues, take proactive measures, and ensure the stability of your applications.

2. Steps to monitor Pod status:
a. Step 1: Connect to the Kubernetes cluster:
To monitor the status of Pods, you need to establish a connection to the Kubernetes cluster. You can use the kubectl command-line tool or programmatic access through Kubernetes client libraries.

b. Step 2: Retrieve Pod information:
Once connected, you need to retrieve the Pod information from the cluster. This can be done using the "kubectl get pods" command or by programmatically accessing the Kubernetes API using client libraries.

c. Step 3: Monitor Pod status:
With the Pod information, you can now monitor the status of each Pod. The Pod status can include various conditions like the Pod scheduled, Pod ready, Pod initialized, Pod terminated, etc. By monitoring these conditions, you can determine whether the Pods are running as expected or if any issues need attention.

3. Code examples:
a. Example 1: Monitoring Pod status using kubectl:
```
# Connect to the Kubernetes cluster using configuration
kubectl config use-context

# Retrieve Pod information
kubectl get pods
```
In this example, we use the "kubectl" command-line tool to connect to the Kubernetes cluster and retrieve the Pod information. The command "kubectl get pods" lists all the Pods along with their current status.

b. Example 2: Monitoring Pod status programmatically using Kubernetes client libraries:
```python
from kubernetes import client, config

# Load configuration from Kubernetes config file
config.load_kube_config()

# Create an instance of the Kubernetes API client
v1 = client.CoreV1Api()

# Retrieve Pod information
pod_list = v1.list_pod_for_all_namespaces().items

# Monitor Pod status
for pod in pod_list:
print("Pod Name: %s, Status: %s" % (pod.metadata.name, pod.status.phase))
```
In this example, we use the Python Kubernetes client library to programmatically connect to the Kubernetes cluster, retrieve Pod information, and monitor the status of each Pod. The client library allows us to access the Kubernetes API and fetch details such as Pod name and status.

4. Conclusion:
Monitoring the status of Pods is crucial for ensuring the proper functioning of applications running within a Kubernetes cluster. By following the steps mentioned in this article and using the provided code examples, you can easily monitor the Pod status either through the command-line or programmatically using client libraries. Proactively monitoring and addressing any issues related to Pod status will help in maintaining the availability and stability of your applications.