pipe-throttle.py

#!/usr/bin/env python3
"""Usage: ... | pipe-throttle.py [NUMBER]

Read and write 1 byte, then sleep for NUMBER seconds.
Keep doing this until cannot read anything.
If NUMBER is not provided, sleep for 1 second instead.

  -h, --help display this help and exit
"""

import sys
import time

if sys.argv[1:]:
    if sys.argv[1] in ("--help", "-h"):
        print(__doc__)
        sys.exit(0)
    sleep_sec = float(sys.argv[1])
else:
    sleep_sec = 1


while True:
    if inp := sys.stdin.read(1):
        sys.stdout.write(inp)
        sys.stdout.flush()
        time.sleep(sleep_sec)
    else:
        break