core: prioritize processing commands over processing all other messages

main.py

@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@ DELAY_AFTER_RESPONSE = 3
 DELAY_AFTER_MESSAGE = 0.1
 DELAY_AFTER_IDLE = 1.0
 
+lock = threading.Lock()
+
 # some functions that increase readability of the code
 def readfile(filename):
     try:
@@ -272,8 +274,14 @@ def queue_processor():
 
 # telegram bot processor
 def message_handler(update, context):
-    print("[DEBUG] Received new message")  # just for testing
-    message_queue.append(update.message)
+    global lock
+    with lock:
+        if update.message.text.__class__ == str and update.message.text.startswith("$"):
+            print("[DEBUG] Received new message with high priority")  # just for testing
+            message_queue.insert(0, update.message)
+        else:
+            print("[DEBUG] Received new message")  # just for testing
+            message_queue.append(update.message)
 
 
 # --- Final stage ---