Make Irssi like text frontend in Python using curses or anything available

Question

By using the Discord API I made a simple script which shows messages received to a certain channel and allow to send a message to that channel. But the problem is input() is holding the program and the new messages do not print until Enter is pressed.

To overcome the problem I am thinking to make Irssi like a front end in which the top part shows messages and the button part allow us to input the messages.

Backend Code

from discord.ext import commands


channel_id = discord_channel_id
bot_token = bot_token

class MyClient(discord.Client):

    async def on_ready(self):
        global channel, msg
        channel = discord.Client.get_channel(self, id=channel_id) 
        print(f'You are Connected on {channel}')
        while True:
            # Send message
            msg = input('[You] >> ')
            await channel.send(msg)

    async def on_message(self, message):           
            # Don't respond to ourselves
            if message.author == self.user:
                return

            if message.content:
                global received
                received = message.content

client = MyClient()


client.run(bot_token)

Curses

import time
import curses

def main(stdscr):
    status = 'connecting'
    server = 'connecting'
    channel = 'connecting'
    online = 'connecting'
    key = 0

    stdscr.clear()
    stdscr.refresh()

    # Disable cursor blinking
    curses.curs_set(0)

    while (key != ord('~')):

        # Initialization
        stdscr.clear()
        height, width = stdscr.getmaxyx()
        # Status Bar
        stdscr.addstr(f"Status: {status}    Server: {server}    Channel: {channel}   Online: {online}", curses.A_REVERSE)
        stdscr.chgat(-1, curses.A_REVERSE)


        # Update the screen
        stdscr.refresh()

        key = stdscr.getch()


curses.wrapper(main)

I made a simple curses UI, but I could not add an input window in the button as in Irssi. I want any message received by the API to print in the Top part and an input button to send a message to the server. But I am stuck in here.

Answer 1

getch has a timeout which can be turned off (nodelay) or set to a small value (timeout)