Non-Blocking Console Input in C

In modern C , non-blocking console input allows for seamless handling of user commands while the program continues to run and output information. This capability is often critical in interactive applications and gaming.

C 11 Solution:

One effective way to implement non-blocking console input is through the use of a separate thread. This approach allows the main program to continue executing while a background thread monitors the console for input. The following code sample demonstrates this approach using C 11:

#include 
#include 
#include 
#include 

static std::string getAnswer()
{
    std::string answer;
    std::cin >> answer;
    return answer;
}

int main()
{
    std::chrono::seconds timeout(5);
    std::cout  future = std::async(getAnswer);

    if (future.wait_for(timeout) == std::future_status::ready)
        answer = future.get();

    std::cout 
Explanation:
In this example, the getAnswer function is responsible for retrieving the user's input. The std::async function launches a separate thread that executes getAnswer and returns a std::future object that can be used to retrieve the result.
The main program sets a timeout of 5 seconds to wait for user input. If the user enters input within this time, the program sets the answer variable to the input. Otherwise, it defaults to "maybe."
This non-blocking input approach allows the program to continue its ongoing computations and output while still responding to user input efficiently. It is a powerful technique for building interactive C   applications.