How to Create a Context Menu in Console Python

Learn how to implement a user-friendly `context menu` in your console-based Python applications with a practical example.
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Creating a Context Menu in Console Python

When developing applications in Python, especially in the console, user interfaces can often be less interactive compared to graphical applications. A console-based context menu can help by prompting users for input in an organized way, which makes it more user-friendly. In this post, we'll explore how to create a context menu in console Python using a specific example.

The Problem

Suppose you have a list of fields:

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And a list of lists representing lines:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Your task is to prompt the user to assign each column in each line a value corresponding to one of the field names from the fields list. The expected output should look like this:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Let’s break down how to approach this problem systematically.

Solution Breakdown

To solve this problem, we can use nested loops: the outer loop will iterate over each line, while the inner loop will iterate through each column in that line. Let's go through the steps needed to achieve the desired output.

Step 1: Setup Your Data

First, define the fields and lines.

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Step 2: Initialize Storage for Results

You’ll need a list to store the results of the user input.

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Step 3: Loop Through the Lines

Utilizing enumerate allows us to access both the index and the values in the lines list. This gives us a way to print out which line we are currently working on.

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Step 4: Loop Through Each Column

For each column value in the current line, prompt the user to pick a value from the fields.

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Step 5: Append Results and Print

After getting the values for a line, append them to the results list and print an empty line for better readability.

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Step 6: Display Final Results

Finally, display the result:

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Complete Code Example

Putting all the steps together, here’s the complete solution:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Example Output

When you run the above code, you might interactively get input like this:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Conclusion

Creating a context menu in console Python is straightforward using simple loops and input prompts. This method allows users to interactively select options in a clean and organized manner. Whether you're building a data entry tool or simply need input from the user, this approach can enhance the usability of your console applications.

With these insights and implementation steps, you will be able to create your own context menus in Python effectively!