Added wait flag to clear_output.

IPython/core/display.py

@@ -657,15 +657,19 b' class Image(DisplayObject):'
         return unicode(s.split('.')[-1].lower())
 
 
-def clear_output():
-    """Clear the output of the current cell receiving output."""
+def clear_output(wait=False):
+    """Clear the output of the current cell receiving output.
+
+    Parameters
+    ----------
+    wait : bool [default: false]
+        Wait to clear the output until new output is available to replace it."""
     from IPython.core.interactiveshell import InteractiveShell
     if InteractiveShell.initialized():
-        InteractiveShell.instance().display_pub.clear_output()
+        InteractiveShell.instance().display_pub.clear_output(wait)
     else:
         from IPython.utils import io
         print('\033[2K\r', file=io.stdout, end='')
         io.stdout.flush()
         print('\033[2K\r', file=io.stderr, end='')
         io.stderr.flush()
-

IPython/core/displaypub.py

@@ -108,7 +108,7 b' class DisplayPublisher(Configurable):'
         if 'text/plain' in data:
             print(data['text/plain'], file=io.stdout)
 
-    def clear_output(self):
+    def clear_output(self, wait=False):
         """Clear the output of the cell receiving output."""
         print('\033[2K\r', file=io.stdout, end='')
         io.stdout.flush()
@@ -123,8 +123,8 b' class CapturingDisplayPublisher(DisplayPublisher):'
     def publish(self, source, data, metadata=None):
         self.outputs.append((source, data, metadata))
     
-    def clear_output(self):
-        super(CapturingDisplayPublisher, self).clear_output()
+    def clear_output(self, wait=False):
+        super(CapturingDisplayPublisher, self).clear_output(wait)
         if other:
             # empty the list, *do not* reassign a new list
             del self.outputs[:]

IPython/html/static/notebook/js/codecell.js

@@ -386,8 +386,8 b' var IPython = (function (IPython) {'
     };
 
 
-    CodeCell.prototype.clear_output = function () {
-        this.output_area.clear_output();
+    CodeCell.prototype.clear_output = function (wait) {
+        this.output_area.clear_output(wait);
     };
 
 

IPython/html/static/notebook/js/outputarea.js

@@ -31,7 +31,7 b' var IPython = (function (IPython) {'
         this.outputs = [];
         this.collapsed = false;
         this.scrolled = false;
-        this.clear_out_timeout = null;
+        this.clear_queued = null;
         if (prompt_area === undefined) {
             this.prompt_area = true;
         } else {
@@ -289,6 +289,12 b' var IPython = (function (IPython) {'
     OutputArea.prototype.append_output = function (json, dynamic) {
         // If dynamic is true, javascript output will be eval'd.
         this.expand();
+
+        // Clear the output if clear is queued.
+        if (this.clear_queued) {
+            this.clear_output(false);
+        }
+
         if (json.output_type === 'pyout') {
             this.append_pyout(json, dynamic);
         } else if (json.output_type === 'pyerr') {
@@ -605,11 +611,21 b' var IPython = (function (IPython) {'
 
 
     OutputArea.prototype.handle_clear_output = function (content) {
-        this.clear_output();
+        this.clear_output(content.wait);
     };
 
 
-    OutputArea.prototype.clear_output = function() {
+    OutputArea.prototype.clear_output = function(wait) {
+        if (wait) {
+
+            // If a clear is queued, clear before adding another to the queue.
+            if (this.clear_queued) {
+                this.clear_output(false);
+            };
+
+            this.clear_queued = true;
+        } else {
+            this.clear_queued = false;
         
         // Fix the output div's height
         var height = this.element.height();
@@ -621,6 +637,7 b' var IPython = (function (IPython) {'
         this.unscroll_area();
         return;
     };
+    };
 
 
     // JSON serialization

IPython/kernel/zmq/zmqshell.py

@@ -86,8 +86,8 b' class ZMQDisplayPublisher(DisplayPublisher):'
             parent=self.parent_header, ident=self.topic,
         )
 
-    def clear_output(self):
-        content = {}
+    def clear_output(self, wait=False):
+        content = dict(wait=wait)
 
         print('\r', file=sys.stdout, end='')
         print('\r', file=sys.stderr, end='')

docs/source/development/messaging.rst

@@ -984,6 +984,20 b' Message type: ``status``::'
         execution_state : ('busy', 'idle', 'starting')
     }
 
+Clear output
+------------
+
+This message type is used to clear the output that is visible on the frontend.
+
+Message type: ``clear_output``::
+
+    content = {
+
+        # Wait to clear the output until new output is available.  Clears the
+        # existing output immediately before the new output is displayed.  
+        # Useful for creating simple animations with minimal flickering.
+        'wait' : bool,
+    }
 
 Messages on the stdin ROUTER/DEALER sockets
 ===========================================