There are several Python libraries out there for interacting with the GPIO pins on a Raspberry Pi:

All of them are reasonably easy to use, but the Quick2Wire API provides a uniquely useful feature: epoll-enabled GPIO interrupts. This makes it trivial to write code that efficiently waits for and responds to things like button presses.

The following simple example waits for a button press attached to GPIO1 (but refer to the chart in this document to see exactly what that means; this is pin 12 on a Raspberry Pi v2 board) and lights an LED attached to GPIO0 when the button is pressed:

#!/usr/bin/env python3

import select
from quick2wire.gpio import pins, In, Out, Rising, Falling, Both

button1 = pins.pin(0, direction=In, interrupt=Both)
led = pins.pin(1, direction=Out)

with button1,led:
    epoll = select.epoll()
    epoll.register(button1, select.EPOLLIN|select.EPOLLET)
    while True:
        events = epoll.poll()
        for fileno, event in events:
            if fileno == button1.fileno():
                print('BUTTON 1!', button1.value)
                led.value = button1.value

There is also a Selector class that makes the epoll interface a little easier to use. The following code is equivalent to the above epoll example:

#!/usr/bin/env python3

from quick2wire.gpio import pins, In, Out, Both
from quick2wire.selector import Selector

button1 = pins.pin(0, direction=In, interrupt=Both)
led = pins.pin(1, direction=Out)

with button1, led, Selector(1) as selector:
    selector.add(button1)
    while True:
        selector.wait()
        if selector.ready == button1:
            print('BUTTON 1!', button1.value)
            led.value = button1.value

The selector module includes a Timer class that lets you add one-shot or repeating timers to a Selector. The following example will light the LED for one second after the button is pressed, unless the button is pressed again, in which case the LED will go out immediately:

#!/usr/bin/env python3

from quick2wire.gpio import pins, In, Out, Both
from quick2wire.selector import Selector, Timer

button1 = pins.pin(0, direction=In, interrupt=Both)
led = pins.pin(1, direction=Out)
active = False

with button1, led, \
        Selector(1) as selector, \
        Timer(offset=2) as timer:

    selector.add(button1)
    selector.add(timer)

    while True:
        selector.wait()
        if selector.ready == button1:
            print('BUTTON 1!', button1.value, active)

            if button1.value:
                if active:      
                    active = False      
                    led.value = 0       
                    timer.stop()        
                else:           
                    active = True       
                    led.value = 1       
                    timer.start()       

        if selector.ready == timer:
            if active:  
                active = False  
                led.value = 0

All of these examples rely on Python’s with statement. If you’re unfamiliar with with, you can find more information here.