title: Retrieving intermediate values for raw_input
body: <p>If I have a thread running in the background, is there any way it can retrieve from Python's raw_input what has been typed so far? Example: User is sitting at prompt and typing away. I would like to receive what has been typed so far at the 5 second mark, 10 second mark, etc. </p>
  
  <p>Relatedly, is there any type of KeyboardEvent indicating that typing is going on?</p>
  
  <p>Additionally, is there any way to modify raw_input's buffer? Clear the buffer from a different thread?</p>
  
  <p>For threading I'm using the 'signal' module.</p>