Specify input() type in Python?

Question

Is it possible to define input times, like time, date, currency or that should be verified manually? Like for example:

morning = input('Enter morning Time:')
evening = input('Enter evening Time:')

.. I need (only) time here, how do I make sure that user enters input in xx:xx format where xx are integers only.

Answer 1

input (in Python 2.any) will return the type of whatever expression the user types in. Better (in Python 2.any) is to use raw_input, which returns a string, and do the conversion yourself, catching the TypeError if the conversion fails.

Python 3.any's input works like 2.any's raw_input, i.e., it returns a string.

Answer 2

You can't really force the input function to return a certain type. It's best you write some kind of a wrapper that reads some input from the user and then converts it to an appropriate type for your application (or throw an exception in case of an error).

Also, as Alex said, it's better to use raw_input for user input since it will always return the entered value as a string. Much more manageable.