PEP: 217 Title: Display Hook for Interactive Use Version: $Revision$ Last-Modified: $Date$ Author: moshez@zadka.site.co.il (Moshe Zadka) Status: Final Type: Standards Track Content-Type: text/x-rst Created: 31-Jul-2000 Python-Version: 2.1 Post-History: Abstract ======== Python's interactive mode is one of the implementation's great strengths -- being able to write expressions on the command line and get back a meaningful output. However, the output function cannot be all things to all people, and the current output function too often falls short of this goal. This PEP describes a way to provides alternatives to the built-in display function in Python, so users will have control over the output from the interactive interpreter. Interface ========= The current Python solution has worked for many users, and this should not break it. Therefore, in the default configuration, nothing will change in the REPL loop. To change the way the interpreter prints interactively entered expressions, users will have to rebind ``sys.displayhook`` to a callable object. The result of calling this object with the result of the interactively entered expression should be print-able, and this is what will be printed on ``sys.stdout``. Solution ======== The bytecode ``PRINT_EXPR`` will call ``sys.displayhook(POP())``. A ``displayhook()`` will be added to the sys builtin module, which is equivalent to:: import __builtin__ def displayhook(o): if o is None: return __builtin__._ = None print `o` __builtin__._ = o Jython Issues ============= The method ``Py.printResult`` will be similarly changed. .. Local Variables: mode: indented-text indent-tabs-mode: nil End: