Reputation: 455

Handling keyboard events in python

How can I handle keyboard events in python? More exactly I need to manage keyboard arrows and some other keys for my command-line application. Is there a module for this or I need to handle key by key using for example "if get(key)==(mykey): do something" (it's pseudo-code)? I'm on Gnu/Linux OS.

Upvotes: 0

Answers (4)

stdio

Reputation: 455

I found another interesting module that's straightforward to use and I'll use it! The module is readline and you just need to import it to have a bash shell (handle keyboard, history-list, etc) "simulation". It's for *nix systems. I'm at beginning with python language and I don't know all modules yet. readline

Upvotes: 0

JAB

Reputation: 21089

jkerian's curses suggestion is a good one, and is the one to use if you're working with Unix/Linux/etc. (which you are), but if you ever end up working in a Windows environment, then you'll definitely want to check out pywin32 and its win32con module, which wraps the Windows API's Console functions and structs.

Upvotes: 1

Eric O. Lebigot

Reputation: 94595

Would the cmd module suit your needs? It handles command-line history through the arrow keys, for instance, as well as completion.

If you need to catch a single key, there is a cross-platform recipe for this (see also Python read a single character from the user on StackOverflow).

Upvotes: 3

jkerian

Reputation: 17046

You're probably looking for a python (n)curses library. This will allow to "get around" your terminal buffering and work with key-presses directly.

Upvotes: 2

Handling keyboard events in python

Answers (4)

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