Are you ready to learn about “curses.textpad” a powerful tool for creating text input widgets in Python? This module makes it easy to add basic text editing functionality to your curses-based applications without having to worry about all the details of handling keyboard events and updating the screen.
To use this module, first make sure that “curses” and “textpad” are installed on your system (you can do this by running `pip install curses`). Then open up a new Python file and add the following code:
# Import the necessary modules
import curses # Module for creating and manipulating windows and text on the screen
from textpad import Textbox, rectangle # Module for creating text input widgets
# Define the main function that will be executed when the script is run
def main(stdscr):
# Add a string to the screen at position (0,0)
stdscr.addstr(0, 0, "Enter IM message: (hit Ctrl-G to send)")
# Create a new window for the input field and position it on the screen
editwin = curses.newwin(5,30, 2,1) # (height, width, y, x)
# Draw a rectangle around the input field using the "rectangle" function from the "curses" module
rectangle(stdscr, 1,0, 1+5+1, 1+30+1) # (y1, x1, y2, x2)
# Create a new text input widget using the "Textbox" class from the "textpad" module and pass it the newly created window as an argument
textbox = Textbox(editwin) # Pass the window as an argument to the Textbox class
# Start editing in the text box
textbox.edit() # Allows the user to input text into the text box
# Wait for user to press any key (this will exit the loop and close the window)
stdscr.getch() # Waits for user input
# End the curses window
curses.endwin() # Closes the curses window and returns the terminal to its previous state
In this example, we’re using “curses” to create a new window for our input field and position it on the screen. We then use the “rectangle” function from “curses” to draw a rectangle around the input field. Finally, we create a new text input widget using the “Textbox” class from “textpad”, pass it the newly created window as an argument, start editing in the text box, and wait for user input before closing the window.
This is just one example of how you can use this module to add basic text editing functionality to your curses-based applications. You can customize this example by adding more options to the Textbox constructor (such as setting its size or position), but that’s beyond the scope of this tutorial.
Give “curses.textpad” a try and see how much easier your life can be!