Best text-typing function in Python

[blackout2]

What, in your opinion is the best way to make text look like it's being typed?
I know you all will have different ways about doing it, and I'm curious about what makes each solution different. So, please post your best way to print text as if it was being typed, in Python.

Have a good day!

[blackout2]

I've tried doing this:




import time
text = "Hello"
def type_text(text):
list(text)
for b in text:
print b,
time.sleep(0.2)

type_text(text)

But it waits for 0.2 seconds, then prints out the whole word.
Weird...

[ofnuts]

This is due to line-buffering on stdout when it goes to a terminal. No I/O happens until your write a newline character. You have to flush the stream after each character, or find how to make it non-buffered.

[blackout2]

Ah, that makes sense, thanks!

[blackout2]

My version of the function:


def type_text(text):
list(text)
for a in text:
sys.stdout.write(a)
sys.stdout.flush()
time.sleep(0.1)

[Vaphell]

for bonus points add typewriter sounds ;-)

[blackout2]

I did, but it got annoying when I was debugging other parts of the program so I removed it.


import pygame
import sys
import time
pygame.mixer.init()
pygame.mixer.music.load('/root/Python/audio.wav')


def type_text(text):
list(text)
for a in text:
sys.stdout.write(a)
pygame.mixer.music.play()
sys.stdout.flush()
time.sleep(0.05)


type_text("Hello")


There ya go!

[Vaphell]

but where is the 'ching' at newline? ;-)

Yes, such things surely get annoying, even printing char by char gets old after a while when you debug stuff for the hundredth time.
You should have such fluff&bling things that add non-negligible delay and/or noise parametrized (program param or constant) so when you debug you can choose to go through the path that shortcircuits things


debug=True

def type_text( text, debug ):
if debug:
print text
else:
<fluff>

[blackout2]

but where is the 'ching' at newline? ;-)

Yes, such things surely get annoying, even printing char by char gets old after a while when you debug stuff for the hundredth time.
You should have such fluff&bling things that add non-negligible delay and/or noise parametrized (program param or constant) so when you debug you can choose to go through the path that shortcircuits things


debug=True

def type_text( text, debug ):
if debug:
print text
else:
<fluff>
Good idea!

[ofnuts]

but where is the 'ching' at newline? ;-)
Yes, such things surely get annoying, even printing char by char gets old after a while when you debug stuff for the hundredth time.


A very long time ago, I wrote a PC-DOS keyboard driver and debugged it by ear by adding beeps in strategic places in the code :) The code path for alphabetic letters would play the Indiana Jones theme (yes, that long time ago).

[blackout2]

A very long time ago, I wrote a PC-DOS keyboard driver and debugged it by ear by adding beeps in strategic places in the code :) The code path for alphabetic letters would play the Indiana Jones theme (yes, that long time ago).

That's awesome, I hope someday I'll be good enough at programming in general to make drivers...whew.
That must have sounded so cool when you finally got your code to work!

[ofnuts]

Well, then I removed the beeps :)