To take input until the Enter key is pressed in Python, use the built-in input()
function repeatedly within a loop. The loop continues until an empty string is received, which signifies that only the Enter key was pressed.
Method: Using a Loop and the input()
Function
This is the most straightforward and commonly used method.
inputs = []
while True:
line = input("Enter input (press Enter to finish): ")
if line:
inputs.append(line)
else:
break
print("You entered:")
for item in inputs:
print(item)
Explanation:
inputs = []
: Initializes an empty list calledinputs
to store the user's input.while True:
: Creates an infinite loop that continues until explicitly broken.line = input("Enter input (press Enter to finish): ")
: Prompts the user to enter input and stores the entered text (including spaces) in theline
variable. Theinput()
function pauses execution until the user presses Enter.if line:
: Checks if theline
variable contains any characters (i.e., if the user entered anything before pressing Enter). An empty string evaluates toFalse
in Python.inputs.append(line)
: If theline
is not empty, it's appended to theinputs
list.else: break
: If theline
is empty (meaning the user just pressed Enter), thebreak
statement exits thewhile
loop.- Printing the Input: The code then iterates through the
inputs
list and prints each entered line.
Example Usage:
If the user enters the following:
This is line 1
This is line 2
The output will be:
You entered:
This is line 1
This is line 2
Considerations
- This method reads input line by line.
- It's suitable for scenarios where you need to collect multiple lines of text until the user signals the end of input by pressing Enter without typing anything.
- You can modify the prompt message in the
input()
function to provide more specific instructions to the user.