Why are there spaces between the letters in my output?

[tharden3]

Below I am disclosing a script I wrote. I called it GhostWriter. It is supposed to write a message you type in as if a ghost were writing it for you. It even has some very basic AI to simulate a real person typing. The problem is, is that when it is run in the python shell, it puts spaces in between the letters of my message. Please submit a version of this that will take the spaces out of the Message being written by the ghost. (And yes, I am new to computer programming... so don't criticize my lame program!)

#--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
from time import sleep
from GhostWriter import *
import random
blist=[.1,.3,.3,.7,.05,.1,.3,.57,.7,.6,.6,.6,.5,.05,.5,.02,.05,.06,.03,.04,.05,.05,.05,.05,.06,.04,.05,.04]
b=blist[0]
def GhostAuthor(name,date,time,prompt):
    print "Message from: ",name
    print date
    print time
    for x in prompt[:]:
        loop=1
        while loop==1:
            random.shuffle(blist)
            sleep(blist[0])
            loop=0
        print x,
  
print "Welcome to Ghost Writer. We are going to write a \"Ghost Message\""
print "Please fill in the information and then click 'ENTER' to proceed."
name=raw_input("What is your name?: ")
date=raw_input("What is today's date?: ")
time=raw_input("What time is it?: ")
prompt=raw_input("Please type in your message: ")

GhostAuthor(name,date,time,prompt)
print " "
print " "

[jlm699]

Replace the last line in your for loop ( print x, )
with:
sys.stdout.prin t( x )

* And don't forget to import sys ;)

Pretty neat program you came up with... impractical but neat to see.

[tharden3]

Replace the last line in your for loop ( print x, )
with:
sys.stdout.prin t( x )

* And don't forget to import sys ;)

Pretty neat program you came up with... impractical but neat to see.

Thanks so much for the help. I'm still learning the ropes as far as python goes, so it's helpful to have someone who knows what they're doing.

[tharden3]

Replace the last line in your for loop ( print x, )
with:
sys.stdout.prin t( x )

* And don't forget to import sys ;)

Pretty neat program you came up with... impractical but neat to see.

ehh, sorry to bug you again, but when I place sys.stdout.prin t(x) it comes up with invalid syntax. If anything, send me the code you added as code in the program, so I can see how it fits in there. Thanks

[Laharl]

Yeah, the docstring for sys.stdout is identical to that of open. You sure you aren't mixing in some Java/C# here by accident?

[tharden3]

Yeah, the docstring for sys.stdout is identical to that of open. You sure you aren't mixing in some Java/C# here by accident?

I agree. would you know how to fix the problem? (In python of course)

[tharden3]

It's fixed. Thank you guys for the help.

[jlm699]

It's fixed. Thank you guys for the help.

For completeness, could you post what modifications you made to make it work?

My code below:
[code=python]
from time import sleep
import random, sys
blist=[ .1,.3,.3,.7,.05 ,.1,.3,.57,.7,. 6,.6,.6,.5,.05, .5,.02,.05,.06, .03,.04,
.05,.05,.05,.05 ,.06,.04,.05,.0 4]
b=blist[0]

def GhostAuthor(nam e,date,time,pro mpt):
print "Message from: ",name
print date
print time
for x in prompt[:]:
loop=1
while loop==1:
random.shuffle( blist)
sleep(blist[0])
loop=0
sys.stdout.writ e( x )

print "Welcome to Ghost Writer. We are going to write a \"Ghost Message\""
print "Please fill in the information and then click 'ENTER' to proceed."
name=raw_input( "What is your name?: ")
date=raw_input( "What is today's date?: ")
time=raw_input( "What time is it?: ")
prompt=raw_inpu t("Please type in your message: ")

GhostAuthor(nam e,date,time,pro mpt)
print " "
print " "

""" Console output:
Welcome to Ghost Writer. We are going to write a "Ghost Message"
Please fill in the information and then click 'ENTER' to proceed.
What is your name?: Jimmy
What is today's date?: July 10, 2008
What time is it?: 8:20 AM
Please type in your message: This message is for ghost writing.
Message from: Jimmy
July 10, 2008
8:20 AM
This message is for ghost writing.
"""[/code]

[tharden3]

Here's the modified verion:

from time import sleep
from GhostWriter import *
import sys
import random
blist=[.1,.3,.3,.7,.05,.1,.3,.57,.7,.6,.6,.6,.5,.05,.5,.02,.05,.06,.03,.04,.05,.05,.05,.05,.06,.04,.05,.04,.03,.04,.03,.04,.03,.04,.04,.035,.045,.05,.03,.03,.04,.04,.4,.6,.03,.05,.05,.04,.04]
b=blist[0]
def GhostAuthor(name,date,time,prompt):
    print "Message from: ",name
    print date
    print time
    for x in prompt[:]:
        loop=1
        while loop==1:
            random.shuffle(blist)
            sleep(blist[0])
            loop=0
        sys.stdout.write(x)

print "Welcome to Ghost Writer. We are going to write a \"Ghost Message\""
print "Please fill in the information and then click 'ENTER' to proceed."
name=raw_input("What is your name?: ")
date=raw_input("What is today's date?: ")
time=raw_input("What time is it?: ")
prompt=raw_input("Please type in your message: ")

GhostAuthor(name,date,time,prompt)
print " "
print " "

Thanks for the help.

[jlm699]

Oh! An important note that I forgot to mention is that on Linux systems it may be necessary to call sys.stdout.flus h() after every write or else all text will appear at the end of the loop.

[tharden3]

Oh! An important note that I forgot to mention is that on Linux systems it may be necessary to call sys.stdout.flus h() after every write or else all text will appear at the end of the loop.

ooh, good point. I do run a linux distro on my PC.

[jlm699]

It's probably a good idea to always call flush after a sys.stdout.writ e() call just for safety's sake.. My Windows box doesn't need it (My Red Hat distro does, that's how I caught it) but I wouldn't be surprised to see some that do.