I'm trying to add code to exit my curses python script correctly when the user types q. I can't merely do CTRL+C because then curses won't be de-initialized correctly.
I haven't found a good solution with getting user input that has a timeout so the program doesn't sit there until the user gives some input.
Is there a simple way with creating a second thread that just handles user input and can request the main thread to run a de-init function?
The suggested answer Python3 + Curses: How to press “q” for ending program immediately? is a starting point, but (like the suggestion for using a separate thread) is not what is needed.
Here is an example, starting from the former:
import sys, curses, time
def main(sc):
sc.nodelay(1)
while True:
try:
sc.addstr(1, 1, time.strftime("%H:%M:%S"))
sc.refresh()
if sc.getch() == ord('q'):
break
time.sleep(1)
except KeyboardInterrupt:
curses.endwin()
print "Bye"
sys.exit()
if __name__=='__main__': curses.wrapper(main)
When you press ^C, it sends a keyboard interrupt. If you catch that, you can tell curses to cleanup (and restore the terminal modes). After that, exit.
A separate thread will not work because it is unlikely that the underlying curses is thread-safe (and improbable that someone has gotten around to using the feature from Python).
Further reading:
