Prompt

cmd2 can issue a prompt before soliciting user input.

Asynchronous Feedback

cmd2 provides two functions to provide asynchronous feedback to the user without interfering with the command line. This means the feedback is provided to the user when they are still entering text at the prompt. To use this functionality, the application must be running in a terminal that supports VT100 control characters and readline. Linux, Mac, and Windows 10 and greater all support these.

async_alert()
Used to display an important message to the user while they are at the prompt in between commands. To the user it appears as if an alert message is printed above the prompt and their current input text and cursor location is left alone.
async_update_prompt()
Updates the prompt while the user is still typing at it. This is good for alerting the user to system changes dynamically in between commands. For instance you could alter the color of the prompt to indicate a system status or increase a counter to report an event.

cmd2 also provides a function to change the title of the terminal window. This feature requires the application be running in a terminal that supports VT100 control characters. Linux, Mac, and Windows 10 and greater all support these.

set_window_title()
Sets the terminal window title

The easiest way to understand these functions is to see the AsyncPrinting example for a demonstration.