How Can I Read a Single Character from User Input Without Blocking or Echoing Cross-Platform?

Non-Blocking Input: Reading a Single Character Cross-Platform

Reading a single character from user input without it being echoed to the screen is a common need in various programming scenarios. While Windows provides a specific function for this purpose, it can be challenging to implement a cross-platform solution.

Cross-Platform Approach

To overcome this limitation, a versatile approach utilizing the ActiveState Recipes library offers a solution that works seamlessly across Windows, Linux, and OSX:

class _Getch:
    """Gets a single character from standard input.  Does not echo to the
screen."""
    def __init__(self):
        try:
            self.impl = _GetchWindows()
        except ImportError:
            self.impl = _GetchUnix()

    def __call__(self): return self.impl()


class _GetchUnix:
    def __init__(self):
        import tty, sys

    def __call__(self):
        import sys, tty, termios
        fd = sys.stdin.fileno()
        old_settings = termios.tcgetattr(fd)
        try:
            tty.setraw(sys.stdin.fileno())
            ch = sys.stdin.read(1)
        finally:
            termios.tcsetattr(fd, termios.TCSADRAIN, old_settings)
        return ch


class _GetchWindows:
    def __init__(self):
        import msvcrt

    def __call__(self):
        import msvcrt
        return msvcrt.getch()


getch = _Getch()

Usage

To use this method, instantiate the _Getch class and invoke its callable interface to read a single character from the user's input:

ch = getch()

This approach provides a non-blocking input mechanism, allowing developers to read a single character from the user without interrupting the program flow or echoing it to the screen. It's a valuable tool for quick responses and interactive command-line applications.

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