Adding Readline Functionality Without Recompiling Python

Question

I recently upgraded to Ubuntu 10.04 LTS and refreshed my Python environment. I installed Python 2.7 from source. Unfortunately, I didn't notice that Setup.dist has the readline line commented out by default - by default, there is no readline support installed. I'm now using the Python interpreter as a REPL enough that the constant ^[[A and ^[[D are very obnoxious.

Can I add readline support quickly, or do I have to actually recompile Python again? It seems like the sort of thing where there should be a quick, sane way to do it, but I don't know such a way.

score 12 · Accepted Answer · edited Apr 11 '16 at 22:27

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There's a standalone gnureadline package available, you can install it using setuptools

$ easy_install readline

You might also consider using ipython instead.

edited Apr 11 '16 at 22:27

astro not

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answered Sep 21 '10 at 21:44

Adam Byrtek

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Does this answer the question? – alternative Sep 21 '10 at 21:46
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Oh hey, that worked. My right pinkie, spared from infinite backspacing, thanks you. – Brighid McDonnell Sep 21 '10 at 21:54
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You're a genius and saved me some incredible time. It's a shame your answer is not more upvoted than this haha. – Depado Jun 13 '14 at 09:18

Adding Readline Functionality Without Recompiling Python

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