It is possible to print what Python lines are executed (thanks Geo!). This has any number of applications, for example, you could modify it to check when particular functions are called or add something like ## make it only track particular lines.
code.interact takes you into a interactive console
import code; code.interact(local=locals())
If you want to be able to easily access your console history look at: "Can I have a history mechanism like in the shell?" (will have to look down for it).
Auto-complete can be enabled for the interpreter.
