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| 55 | <H1><A NAME="SECTION0092000000000000000000"> |
| 56 | 7.20 <tt class="module">readline</tt> -- |
| 57 | GNU readline interface</A> |
| 58 | </H1> |
| 59 | |
| 60 | <P> |
| 61 | <A NAME="module-readline"></A> |
| 62 | <p class="availability">Availability: <span |
| 63 | class="platform">Unix</span>.</p> |
| 64 | |
| 65 | <P> |
| 66 | The <tt class="module">readline</tt> module defines a number of functions used either |
| 67 | directly or from the <tt class="module"><a href="module-rlcompleter.html">rlcompleter</a></tt> module to facilitate |
| 68 | completion and history file read and write from the Python |
| 69 | interpreter. |
| 70 | |
| 71 | <P> |
| 72 | The <tt class="module">readline</tt> module defines the following functions: |
| 73 | |
| 74 | <P> |
| 75 | <dl><dt><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr valign="baseline"> |
| 76 | <td><nobr><b><tt id='l2h-2941' xml:id='l2h-2941' class="function">parse_and_bind</tt></b>(</nobr></td> |
| 77 | <td><var>string</var>)</td></tr></table></dt> |
| 78 | <dd> |
| 79 | Parse and execute single line of a readline init file. |
| 80 | </dl> |
| 81 | |
| 82 | <P> |
| 83 | <dl><dt><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr valign="baseline"> |
| 84 | <td><nobr><b><tt id='l2h-2942' xml:id='l2h-2942' class="function">get_line_buffer</tt></b>(</nobr></td> |
| 85 | <td><var></var>)</td></tr></table></dt> |
| 86 | <dd> |
| 87 | Return the current contents of the line buffer. |
| 88 | </dl> |
| 89 | |
| 90 | <P> |
| 91 | <dl><dt><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr valign="baseline"> |
| 92 | <td><nobr><b><tt id='l2h-2943' xml:id='l2h-2943' class="function">insert_text</tt></b>(</nobr></td> |
| 93 | <td><var>string</var>)</td></tr></table></dt> |
| 94 | <dd> |
| 95 | Insert text into the command line. |
| 96 | </dl> |
| 97 | |
| 98 | <P> |
| 99 | <dl><dt><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr valign="baseline"> |
| 100 | <td><nobr><b><tt id='l2h-2944' xml:id='l2h-2944' class="function">read_init_file</tt></b>(</nobr></td> |
| 101 | <td><var></var><big>[</big><var>filename</var><big>]</big><var></var>)</td></tr></table></dt> |
| 102 | <dd> |
| 103 | Parse a readline initialization file. |
| 104 | The default filename is the last filename used. |
| 105 | </dl> |
| 106 | |
| 107 | <P> |
| 108 | <dl><dt><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr valign="baseline"> |
| 109 | <td><nobr><b><tt id='l2h-2945' xml:id='l2h-2945' class="function">read_history_file</tt></b>(</nobr></td> |
| 110 | <td><var></var><big>[</big><var>filename</var><big>]</big><var></var>)</td></tr></table></dt> |
| 111 | <dd> |
| 112 | Load a readline history file. |
| 113 | The default filename is <span class="file">~/.history</span>. |
| 114 | </dl> |
| 115 | |
| 116 | <P> |
| 117 | <dl><dt><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr valign="baseline"> |
| 118 | <td><nobr><b><tt id='l2h-2946' xml:id='l2h-2946' class="function">write_history_file</tt></b>(</nobr></td> |
| 119 | <td><var></var><big>[</big><var>filename</var><big>]</big><var></var>)</td></tr></table></dt> |
| 120 | <dd> |
| 121 | Save a readline history file. |
| 122 | The default filename is <span class="file">~/.history</span>. |
| 123 | </dl> |
| 124 | |
| 125 | <P> |
| 126 | <dl><dt><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr valign="baseline"> |
| 127 | <td><nobr><b><tt id='l2h-2947' xml:id='l2h-2947' class="function">clear_history</tt></b>(</nobr></td> |
| 128 | <td><var></var>)</td></tr></table></dt> |
| 129 | <dd> |
| 130 | Clear the current history. (Note: this function is not available if |
| 131 | the installed version of GNU readline doesn't support it.) |
| 132 | |
| 133 | <span class="versionnote">New in version 2.4.</span> |
| 134 | |
| 135 | </dl> |
| 136 | |
| 137 | <P> |
| 138 | <dl><dt><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr valign="baseline"> |
| 139 | <td><nobr><b><tt id='l2h-2948' xml:id='l2h-2948' class="function">get_history_length</tt></b>(</nobr></td> |
| 140 | <td><var></var>)</td></tr></table></dt> |
| 141 | <dd> |
| 142 | Return the desired length of the history file. Negative values imply |
| 143 | unlimited history file size. |
| 144 | </dl> |
| 145 | |
| 146 | <P> |
| 147 | <dl><dt><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr valign="baseline"> |
| 148 | <td><nobr><b><tt id='l2h-2949' xml:id='l2h-2949' class="function">set_history_length</tt></b>(</nobr></td> |
| 149 | <td><var>length</var>)</td></tr></table></dt> |
| 150 | <dd> |
| 151 | Set the number of lines to save in the history file. |
| 152 | <tt class="function">write_history_file()</tt> uses this value to truncate the |
| 153 | history file when saving. Negative values imply unlimited history |
| 154 | file size. |
| 155 | </dl> |
| 156 | |
| 157 | <P> |
| 158 | <dl><dt><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr valign="baseline"> |
| 159 | <td><nobr><b><tt id='l2h-2950' xml:id='l2h-2950' class="function">get_current_history_length</tt></b>(</nobr></td> |
| 160 | <td><var></var>)</td></tr></table></dt> |
| 161 | <dd> |
| 162 | Return the number of lines currently in the history. (This is different |
| 163 | from <tt class="function">get_history_length()</tt>, which returns the maximum number of |
| 164 | lines that will be written to a history file.) |
| 165 | <span class="versionnote">New in version 2.3.</span> |
| 166 | |
| 167 | </dl> |
| 168 | |
| 169 | <P> |
| 170 | <dl><dt><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr valign="baseline"> |
| 171 | <td><nobr><b><tt id='l2h-2951' xml:id='l2h-2951' class="function">get_history_item</tt></b>(</nobr></td> |
| 172 | <td><var>index</var>)</td></tr></table></dt> |
| 173 | <dd> |
| 174 | Return the current contents of history item at <var>index</var>. |
| 175 | |
| 176 | <span class="versionnote">New in version 2.3.</span> |
| 177 | |
| 178 | </dl> |
| 179 | |
| 180 | <P> |
| 181 | <dl><dt><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr valign="baseline"> |
| 182 | <td><nobr><b><tt id='l2h-2952' xml:id='l2h-2952' class="function">remove_history_item</tt></b>(</nobr></td> |
| 183 | <td><var>pos</var>)</td></tr></table></dt> |
| 184 | <dd> |
| 185 | Remove history item specified by its position from the history. |
| 186 | |
| 187 | <span class="versionnote">New in version 2.4.</span> |
| 188 | |
| 189 | </dl> |
| 190 | |
| 191 | <P> |
| 192 | <dl><dt><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr valign="baseline"> |
| 193 | <td><nobr><b><tt id='l2h-2953' xml:id='l2h-2953' class="function">replace_history_item</tt></b>(</nobr></td> |
| 194 | <td><var>pos, line</var>)</td></tr></table></dt> |
| 195 | <dd> |
| 196 | Replace history item specified by its position with the given line. |
| 197 | |
| 198 | <span class="versionnote">New in version 2.4.</span> |
| 199 | |
| 200 | </dl> |
| 201 | |
| 202 | <P> |
| 203 | <dl><dt><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr valign="baseline"> |
| 204 | <td><nobr><b><tt id='l2h-2954' xml:id='l2h-2954' class="function">redisplay</tt></b>(</nobr></td> |
| 205 | <td><var></var>)</td></tr></table></dt> |
| 206 | <dd> |
| 207 | Change what's displayed on the screen to reflect the current contents |
| 208 | of the line buffer. |
| 209 | <span class="versionnote">New in version 2.3.</span> |
| 210 | |
| 211 | </dl> |
| 212 | |
| 213 | <P> |
| 214 | <dl><dt><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr valign="baseline"> |
| 215 | <td><nobr><b><tt id='l2h-2955' xml:id='l2h-2955' class="function">set_startup_hook</tt></b>(</nobr></td> |
| 216 | <td><var></var><big>[</big><var>function</var><big>]</big><var></var>)</td></tr></table></dt> |
| 217 | <dd> |
| 218 | Set or remove the startup_hook function. If <var>function</var> is specified, |
| 219 | it will be used as the new startup_hook function; if omitted or |
| 220 | <code>None</code>, any hook function already installed is removed. The |
| 221 | startup_hook function is called with no arguments just |
| 222 | before readline prints the first prompt. |
| 223 | </dl> |
| 224 | |
| 225 | <P> |
| 226 | <dl><dt><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr valign="baseline"> |
| 227 | <td><nobr><b><tt id='l2h-2956' xml:id='l2h-2956' class="function">set_pre_input_hook</tt></b>(</nobr></td> |
| 228 | <td><var></var><big>[</big><var>function</var><big>]</big><var></var>)</td></tr></table></dt> |
| 229 | <dd> |
| 230 | Set or remove the pre_input_hook function. If <var>function</var> is specified, |
| 231 | it will be used as the new pre_input_hook function; if omitted or |
| 232 | <code>None</code>, any hook function already installed is removed. The |
| 233 | pre_input_hook function is called with no arguments after the first prompt |
| 234 | has been printed and just before readline starts reading input characters. |
| 235 | </dl> |
| 236 | |
| 237 | <P> |
| 238 | <dl><dt><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr valign="baseline"> |
| 239 | <td><nobr><b><tt id='l2h-2957' xml:id='l2h-2957' class="function">set_completer</tt></b>(</nobr></td> |
| 240 | <td><var></var><big>[</big><var>function</var><big>]</big><var></var>)</td></tr></table></dt> |
| 241 | <dd> |
| 242 | Set or remove the completer function. If <var>function</var> is specified, |
| 243 | it will be used as the new completer function; if omitted or |
| 244 | <code>None</code>, any completer function already installed is removed. The |
| 245 | completer function is called as <code><var>function</var>(<var>text</var>, |
| 246 | <var>state</var>)</code>, for <var>state</var> in <code>0</code>, <code>1</code>, <code>2</code>, ..., |
| 247 | until it returns a non-string value. It should return the next |
| 248 | possible completion starting with <var>text</var>. |
| 249 | </dl> |
| 250 | |
| 251 | <P> |
| 252 | <dl><dt><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr valign="baseline"> |
| 253 | <td><nobr><b><tt id='l2h-2958' xml:id='l2h-2958' class="function">get_completer</tt></b>(</nobr></td> |
| 254 | <td><var></var>)</td></tr></table></dt> |
| 255 | <dd> |
| 256 | Get the completer function, or <code>None</code> if no completer function |
| 257 | has been set. |
| 258 | <span class="versionnote">New in version 2.3.</span> |
| 259 | |
| 260 | </dl> |
| 261 | |
| 262 | <P> |
| 263 | <dl><dt><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr valign="baseline"> |
| 264 | <td><nobr><b><tt id='l2h-2959' xml:id='l2h-2959' class="function">get_begidx</tt></b>(</nobr></td> |
| 265 | <td><var></var>)</td></tr></table></dt> |
| 266 | <dd> |
| 267 | Get the beginning index of the readline tab-completion scope. |
| 268 | </dl> |
| 269 | |
| 270 | <P> |
| 271 | <dl><dt><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr valign="baseline"> |
| 272 | <td><nobr><b><tt id='l2h-2960' xml:id='l2h-2960' class="function">get_endidx</tt></b>(</nobr></td> |
| 273 | <td><var></var>)</td></tr></table></dt> |
| 274 | <dd> |
| 275 | Get the ending index of the readline tab-completion scope. |
| 276 | </dl> |
| 277 | |
| 278 | <P> |
| 279 | <dl><dt><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr valign="baseline"> |
| 280 | <td><nobr><b><tt id='l2h-2961' xml:id='l2h-2961' class="function">set_completer_delims</tt></b>(</nobr></td> |
| 281 | <td><var>string</var>)</td></tr></table></dt> |
| 282 | <dd> |
| 283 | Set the readline word delimiters for tab-completion. |
| 284 | </dl> |
| 285 | |
| 286 | <P> |
| 287 | <dl><dt><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr valign="baseline"> |
| 288 | <td><nobr><b><tt id='l2h-2962' xml:id='l2h-2962' class="function">get_completer_delims</tt></b>(</nobr></td> |
| 289 | <td><var></var>)</td></tr></table></dt> |
| 290 | <dd> |
| 291 | Get the readline word delimiters for tab-completion. |
| 292 | </dl> |
| 293 | |
| 294 | <P> |
| 295 | <dl><dt><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr valign="baseline"> |
| 296 | <td><nobr><b><tt id='l2h-2963' xml:id='l2h-2963' class="function">add_history</tt></b>(</nobr></td> |
| 297 | <td><var>line</var>)</td></tr></table></dt> |
| 298 | <dd> |
| 299 | Append a line to the history buffer, as if it was the last line typed. |
| 300 | </dl> |
| 301 | |
| 302 | <P> |
| 303 | <div class="seealso"> |
| 304 | <p class="heading">See Also:</p> |
| 305 | |
| 306 | <dl compact="compact" class="seemodule"> |
| 307 | <dt>Module <b><tt class="module"><a href="module-rlcompleter.html">rlcompleter</a></tt>:</b> |
| 308 | <dd>Completion of Python identifiers at the |
| 309 | interactive prompt. |
| 310 | </dl> |
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| 312 | |
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