Read keyboad input from background process

https://raspberrypi.stackexchange.com/questions/55431/read-keyboad-input-from-background-process

TIPS:

For a new project, I need to read input from a USB barcode scanner (that registers as a keyboard) and perform some actions on the "typed" text whenever the Enter key was pressed.

The requirement is that this code run on a headless Raspberry Pi 3, and that it be started on boot, indefinitely waiting for input. I know how to wait for and process keyboard input in, for example, Python, but I have no idea how to do it in a background process (e.g., by starting the script in rc.local or via crontab).

Are there any techniques how to achieve this kind of requirement? It doesn't have to be in Python, but it has to run on Raspbian. Some code examples would be perfect, but links to tutorials/techniques/documentation are greatly appreciated, too.