diff -r f6e399ae670f Doc/library/readline.rst
--- a/Doc/library/readline.rst	Fri Jul 24 09:07:12 2015 +0300
+++ b/Doc/library/readline.rst	Sun Jul 26 11:49:22 2015 +0100
@@ -114,6 +114,12 @@
    line buffer.
 
 
+.. function:: forced_update_display()
+
+   Forcibly redisplay the line buffer and prompt, even if Readline thinks
+   they're displayed correctly.
+
+
 .. function:: set_startup_hook([function])
 
    Set or remove the startup_hook function.  If *function* is specified, it will be
@@ -185,6 +191,12 @@
 
    Append a line to the history buffer, as if it was the last line typed.
 
+.. function:: reading_line()
+
+   Returns True if the interpreter is in the process of reading a line
+   using Readline at the time the call is made. Returns False otherwise.
+
+
 .. seealso::
 
    Module :mod:`rlcompleter`
diff -r f6e399ae670f Misc/ACKS
--- a/Misc/ACKS	Fri Jul 24 09:07:12 2015 +0300
+++ b/Misc/ACKS	Sun Jul 26 11:49:22 2015 +0100
@@ -1355,6 +1355,7 @@
 Michael Stone
 Serhiy Storchaka
 Ken Stox
+Barney Stratford
 Dan Stromberg
 Donald Stufft
 Daniel Stutzbach
diff -r f6e399ae670f Modules/readline.c
--- a/Modules/readline.c	Fri Jul 24 09:07:12 2015 +0300
+++ b/Modules/readline.c	Sun Jul 26 11:49:22 2015 +0100
@@ -771,6 +771,41 @@
 contents of the line buffer.");
 
 
+/* Forcibly redisplay the line buffer */
+
+static PyObject *
+forced_update_display(PyObject *self, PyObject *noarg)
+{
+    rl_forced_update_display();
+    Py_RETURN_NONE;
+}
+
+PyDoc_STRVAR(doc_forced_update_display,
+"forced_update_display() -> None\n\
+Forcibly redraw the current line.");
+
+
+
+/* Are we reading a line of input right now? */
+
+static int reading = 0;
+
+static PyObject *
+reading_line (PyObject *self, PyObject *noarg)
+{
+    if (reading)
+        Py_RETURN_TRUE;
+    else
+        Py_RETURN_FALSE;
+}
+
+PyDoc_STRVAR(doc_reading_line,
+"reading_line() -> bool\n\
+Are we reading a line of text into the interpreter right now?");
+
+
+
+
 /* Table of functions exported by the module */
 
 static struct PyMethodDef readline_methods[] =
@@ -779,6 +814,7 @@
     {"get_line_buffer", get_line_buffer, METH_NOARGS, doc_get_line_buffer},
     {"insert_text", insert_text, METH_VARARGS, doc_insert_text},
     {"redisplay", redisplay, METH_NOARGS, doc_redisplay},
+    {"forced_update_display", forced_update_display, METH_NOARGS, doc_forced_update_display},
     {"read_init_file", read_init_file, METH_VARARGS, doc_read_init_file},
     {"read_history_file", read_history_file,
      METH_VARARGS, doc_read_history_file},
@@ -822,6 +858,7 @@
 #ifdef HAVE_RL_COMPLETION_APPEND_CHARACTER
     {"clear_history", py_clear_history, METH_NOARGS, doc_clear_history},
 #endif
+    {"reading_line", reading_line, METH_NOARGS, doc_reading_line},
     {0, 0}
 };
 
@@ -1114,6 +1151,7 @@
     rl_catch_signals = 0;
 #endif
 
+    reading = 1;
     rl_callback_handler_install (prompt, rlhandler);
     FD_ZERO(&selectset);
 
@@ -1160,6 +1198,7 @@
         }
     }
 
+    reading = 0;
     return completed_input_string;
 }
 
@@ -1197,7 +1236,9 @@
         return NULL;
     }
     rl_event_hook = PyOS_InputHook;
+    reading = 1;
     p = readline(prompt);
+    reading = 0;
     PyOS_setsig(SIGINT, old_inthandler);
 
     return p;