When scripting, a common use case scenario might be to alter the behavior of
your script based on whether the input data is received from the STDIN through
a pipe, or typed directly in the terminal (tty).
In Python, it is fairly easy to do it. For example,
import os, sys
if os.isatty(sys.stdout.fileno()):
...
Or,
import sys
sys.stdout.isatty()
In Ruby, a language I frequently use, it would be:
STDIN.tty?
Succint!
Happy Hacking!