How Can I Implement Time-Limited User Input in Python?

Time-Limited User Input in Python

When soliciting user input with the input function, you may want to limit the time the user has to respond. This allows you to gracefully handle timeouts and provide appropriate feedback.

Using a Time-Limited Input

To implement time-limited input, consider the following approaches:

Blocking Thread Approach (Python 2/3)

import threading

timeout = 10  # In seconds
t = threading.Timer(timeout, lambda: print('Sorry, times up.'))
t.start()

prompt = "You have {} seconds to choose the correct answer...\n".format(timeout)
answer = input(prompt)
t.cancel()  # Stop the timer if the user provides a response

Non-Blocking Thread Approach (Python 3)

import sys
import msvcrt  # For Windows
import time  # For Unix

def input_with_timeout(prompt, timeout, timer=time.monotonic):
    sys.stdout.write(prompt)
    sys.stdout.flush()
    endtime = timer() + timeout
    result = []

    while timer() < endtime:
        if msvcrt.kbhit():  # For Windows
            # Handle keyboard input
        else:  # For Unix
            ready, _, _ = select.select([sys.stdin], [], [], timeout)
            if ready:
                return sys.stdin.readline().rstrip('\n')

    raise TimeoutExpired()

Signal Handling Approach (Unix-like systems)

import signal

def alarm_handler(signum, frame):
    raise TimeoutExpired()

def input_with_timeout(prompt, timeout):
    signal.signal(signal.SIGALRM, alarm_handler)
    signal.alarm(timeout)

    try:
        return input(prompt)
    finally:
        signal.alarm(0)  # Cancel the alarm

Choose the approach that best suits your operating system and blocking requirements.

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