The rlcompleter module defines a completion function suitable for the readline module by completing valid Python identifiers and keywords.
When this module is imported on a Unix platform with the readline module available, an instance of the Completer class is automatically created and its complete method is set as the readline completer.
Example:
>>> import rlcompleter
>>> import readline
>>> readline.parse_and_bind("tab: complete")
>>> readline. <TAB PRESSED>
readline.__doc__ readline.get_line_buffer readline.read_init_file
readline.__file__ readline.insert_text readline.set_completer
readline.__name__ readline.parse_and_bind
>>> readline.
The rlcompleter module is designed for use with Python's interactive mode. A user can add the following lines to his or her initialization file (identified by the PYTHONSTARTUP environment variable) to get automatic Tab completion:
try:
import readline
except ImportError:
print "Module readline not available."
else:
import rlcompleter
readline.parse_and_bind("tab: complete")
On platforms without readline, the Completer class defined by this module can still be used for custom purposes.