Backspace with `raw_input` in Python

Question

I am using raw_input() like this:

while True:
  print "MC ID (CTRL-D = done, 0 = sets, ? = lookup):",
  try:
    mcid=raw_input()
  except:
    print
    break
  # evaluate user input
  # ...

Now if you type something, e.g. abc and hit backspace to correct something, as soon as you remove the a, the output from print is erased as well (and the cursor jumps to the beginning of the line), so that you no longer see the input prompt. Is there a way to avoid this?

Maybe this is rather a problem with my terminal than with Python? Does somebody see the same behavior? — fuenfundachtzig, Aug 09 '11 at 08:49
Not related to your question, but you should never use a bare `except`. — Tim Pietzcker, Aug 09 '11 at 08:51
What happens if you put your prompt string as argument to raw_input()? — Nicola Musatti, Aug 09 '11 at 08:52
The code works fine for me so yes - its a problem with your terminal :) — Steve Walsh, Aug 09 '11 at 08:55
OK, so it seems to be somewhat related to my terminal, but it can be fixed (see the answers below) by prompting without an explicit `print`. Thanks! — fuenfundachtzig, Aug 09 '11 at 08:58
You may find this of use: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/6151966/printing-key-presses-to-the-screen-instantly-with-python — Rusty Rob, Aug 09 '11 at 11:10

score 4 · Accepted Answer · edited Aug 09 '11 at 13:38

4

Try this:

mcid = raw_input("MC ID (CTRL-D = done, 0 = sets, ? = lookup): ")

edited Aug 09 '11 at 13:38

Perception

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answered Aug 09 '11 at 08:53

Srikar Appalaraju

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score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Aug 09 '11 at 08:56

1

I cannot reproduce it, but you can try this way:

mcid=raw_input("MC ID (CTRL-D = done, 0 = sets, ? = lookup):")

answered Aug 09 '11 at 08:56

Michał Šrajer

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Backspace with `raw_input` in Python

2 Answers2