Usage

A topshape program consists of creating a TopShape object by calling TopShape.create_app() and then calling run().

from topshape import TopShape

# define arguments for create_app here
# ...

app = TopShape.create_app(...)
app.run()

Checkout here for the arguments to pass to create_app().

Exiting the application

To exit the application, simply call exit() on the TopShape object.

Sorting column

The rows in the body of the topshape application are sorted by a sorting column (defaults to the leftmost column and can be overridden by passing an arg to create_app()).

While in the main loop, the current column used for sorting can be moved left or right by calling the TopShape object’s move_sort_left() and move_sort_right() methods.

Keypress handling

You can define what topshape does when certain keys are pressed by passing a dict as the arg key_mapping to create_app().

key_mapping’s keys are the physical keys that get pressed and the values are the functions that get called when the keys get pressed. The values can also be tuples (or lists) where each tuple is (handler_function, question). The question will be displayed as the bottom line in the header while waiting for input from the user. Once the enter key is pressed, the handler_function is called and passed the TopShape app object and the answer to the question typed in the bottom line of the header.

The key h is not overridable. It always displays the help output. Any override for this key in key_mapping is ignored.

The key q defaults to causing topshape to exit however it can be overriden.

Displaying help to the user

While the application is running, pressing h will show the help screen. The help text is the string that was passed as the help_text argument to create_app().