I have a number of functions that I have written myself over time, over time I have placed each of these functions in their own modules (as I thought this was best practice).
I would like take the next step and organise these modules that I can import in fewer lines of code. However, I'm finding that I need to need to use a lot of lines of 'repeated' code to import the functions I want to have access to.
my_functions
-src
--__init__.py
--func1.py
--func2.py
--func3.py
I have followed this talk tutorial to build this collection of modules into a package thinking that I could use something like
import my_fucntions as mf
but I have to import each module
import func1 as fu1
import func2 as fu2
...
a = fu1.func1()
my question is, what do I have to do to be able to import my functions as a package, the same way that I would import something like pandas
import my_functions as mf
a = mf.func1(arg)
I'm finding it difficult to find either a tutorial or a clear simple example of how to structure this so any guidance at all would be useful. If it's just not doable without building something as complex and pandas or numpy thats ok too, I just said I'd try one last shot at it.
Create a __init__.py file in both my_functions directory and src directory.
Now in the my_functions __init__.py file. No need to edit __init__ file inside src.
from src.func1 import func1
from src.func2 import func2
__all__ = [
'func1',
'func2'
]
Now you can use my_functions like below
import my_functions
my_functions.f1()
__all__ gets called when you try to import my_functions and allow you to import things you have mentioned using dot notation.
To call a python script from the root call it using dot notation as below
python3 -m <some_directory>.<file>
For example I have a module names my_mod.py and the code is:-
def get_sum(int1, int2):
a = int(int1) + int(int2)
print(a)
And I have the same function in the python file. my_python_file.py:-
def get_sum(int1, int2):
a = int(int1) + int(int2)
print(a)
get_sum(12, 43)
So what is the main difference between modules and functions? Not talking about my example code.
Main Question:-
Can anyone give me an example about what can modules do that functions can't?
Thank you!
Modules are libraries of function(s).
A module is a file.
my_mod.py
A function is a code.
my_func()
You import a module.
import my_mod
From a module you can import a function.
from my_mod import my_func
You can pass variables in a function, you will not pass a variable in a module.
from my_mod import my_func
my_func(myvar)
You can install a module (if published here on PIP)
pip install my_mod
You can not install a function. The function is defined in your module.
#my_mod.py
def my_func(myvar):
return myvar
When you are going to use the same code multiple times in the same script, you make it into a function to reduce redundancy right? Similarly if you are going to use the same code in multiple different scripts, instead of writing the same function again and again in all the scripts, we write it into a module and we can import and use the function whenever needed. This is a simplified explanation based on how you have used modules alone.
I think in general the Idea with modules, is that a person would write a module, (collection of code for other people to access). It is perhaps a collection of related code to be used as a tool.
The question is pretty simple: I need to move a piece of my code to the another file. In the main file, I'll do something like import not_main. Is is possible to run imported code as a part of the main file? Here's a simplified example:
__code
\__main.py
|__not_main.py
main.py content:
a = 5
import not_main
not_main.py content:
print a
When I'm running main.py, there is a error : NameError: name 'a' is not defined. How can I make it work? Thanks for any tips.
It's not possible to directly reference a variable in one module that's defined in another module unless you import that module first. Doesn't matter that it's the main module, this error would happen if you tried to do the same between any two modules. An imported module does not gain the scope of the module it's imported into.
There are possible workarounds, though I would caution using them if the code you're trying to separate out is fairly complex. But if you're intent on doing it, I'd suggest separating out any variables needed in both modules into a third module that only contains those variables. So the simple example you gave would turn into this:
cross_module_variables.py:
a = 5
main.py:
import not_main
not_main.py:
import cross_module_variables as cmv
print cmv.a
For more complex code you might need to assign the value of the variable in main after doing executing some code to produce the value. In that case you'll want to import cross_module_variables into the main module and assign a value to it. Course that variable has to be instantiated before it can be used in main so you'll have define the variable in cross_module_variable with some default value. So it would look something more like this:
cross_module_variables.py:
a = 0
main.py:
import cross_module_variables as cmv
cmv.a = 5
import not_main
not_main.py:
import cross_module_variables as cmv
print cmv.a
See this answer for more info on cross module variables.
With all that said, I would highly suggest you look at restructuring your code in some other sane way. It sounds like you're running all your code straight in modules instead of defining functions around discrete sections of code. You should look into ways of designing coherent functional programs.
I am a little confused by the multitude of ways in which you can import modules in Python.
import X
import X as Y
from A import B
I have been reading up about scoping and namespaces, but I would like some practical advice on what is the best strategy, under which circumstances and why. Should imports happen at a module level or a method/function level? In the __init__.py or in the module code itself?
My question is not really answered by "Python packages - import by class, not file" although it is obviously related.
In production code in our company, we try to follow the following rules.
We place imports at the beginning of the file, right after the main file's docstring, e.g.:
"""
Registry related functionality.
"""
import wx
# ...
Now, if we import a class that is one of few in the imported module, we import the name directly, so that in the code we only have to use the last part, e.g.:
from RegistryController import RegistryController
from ui.windows.lists import ListCtrl, DynamicListCtrl
There are modules, however, that contain dozens of classes, e.g. list of all possible exceptions. Then we import the module itself and reference to it in the code:
from main.core import Exceptions
# ...
raise Exceptions.FileNotFound()
We use the import X as Y as rarely as possible, because it makes searching for usage of a particular module or class difficult. Sometimes, however, you have to use it if you wish to import two classes that have the same name, but exist in different modules, e.g.:
from Queue import Queue
from main.core.MessageQueue import Queue as MessageQueue
As a general rule, we don't do imports inside methods -- they simply make code slower and less readable. Some may find this a good way to easily resolve cyclic imports problem, but a better solution is code reorganization.
Let me just paste a part of conversation on django-dev mailing list started by Guido van Rossum:
[...]
For example, it's part of the Google Python style guides[1] that all
imports must import a module, not a class or function from that
module. There are way more classes and functions than there are
modules, so recalling where a particular thing comes from is much
easier if it is prefixed with a module name. Often multiple modules
happen to define things with the same name -- so a reader of the code
doesn't have to go back to the top of the file to see from which
module a given name is imported.
Source: http://groups.google.com/group/django-developers/browse_thread/thread/78975372cdfb7d1a
1: http://code.google.com/p/soc/wiki/PythonStyleGuide#Module_and_package_imports
I would normally use import X on module level. If you only need a single object from a module, use from X import Y.
Only use import X as Y in case you're otherwise confronted with a name clash.
I only use imports on function level to import stuff I need when the module is used as the main module, like:
def main():
import sys
if len(sys.argv) > 1:
pass
HTH
Someone above said that
from X import A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J,K,L,M,N,O,P
is equivalent to
import X
import X allows direct modifications to A-P, while from X import ... creates copies of A-P. For from X import A..P you do not get updates to variables if they are modified. If you modify them, you only modify your copy, but X does know about your modifications.
If A-P are functions, you won't know the difference.
Others have covered most of the ground here but I just wanted to add one case where I will use import X as Y (temporarily), when I'm trying out a new version of a class or module.
So if we were migrating to a new implementation of a module, but didn't want to cut the code base over all at one time, we might write a xyz_new module and do this in the source files that we had migrated:
import xyz_new as xyz
Then, once we cut over the entire code base, we'd just replace the xyz module with xyz_new and change all of the imports back to
import xyz
DON'T do this:
from X import *
unless you are absolutely sure that you will use each and every thing in that module. And even then, you should probably reconsider using a different approach.
Other than that, it's just a matter of style.
from X import Y
is good and saves you lots of typing. I tend to use that when I'm using something in it fairly frequently But if you're importing a lot from that module, you could end up with an import statement that looks like this:
from X import A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J,K,L,M,N,O,P
You get the idea. That's when imports like
import X
become useful. Either that or if I'm not really using anything in X very frequently.
I generally try to use the regular import modulename, unless the module name is long, or used often..
For example, I would do..
from BeautifulSoup import BeautifulStoneSoup as BSS
..so I can do soup = BSS(html) instead of BeautifulSoup.BeautifulStoneSoup(html)
Or..
from xmpp import XmppClientBase
..instead of importing the entire of xmpp when I only use the XmppClientBase
Using import x as y is handy if you want to import either very long method names , or to prevent clobbering an existing import/variable/class/method (something you should try to avoid completely, but it's not always possible)
Say I want to run a main() function from another script, but I already have a main() function..
from my_other_module import main as other_module_main
..wouldn't replace my main function with my_other_module's main
Oh, one thing - don't do from x import * - it makes your code very hard to understand, as you cannot easily see where a method came from (from x import *; from y import *; my_func() - where is my_func defined?)
In all cases, you could just do import modulename and then do modulename.subthing1.subthing2.method("test")...
The from x import y as z stuff is purely for convenience - use it whenever it'll make your code easier to read or write!
When you have a well-written library, which is sometimes case in python, you ought just import it and use it as it. Well-written library tends to take life and language of its own, resulting in pleasant-to-read -code, where you rarely reference the library. When a library is well-written, you ought not need renaming or anything else too often.
import gat
node = gat.Node()
child = node.children()
Sometimes it's not possible to write it this way, or then you want to lift down things from library you imported.
from gat import Node, SubNode
node = Node()
child = SubNode(node)
Sometimes you do this for lot of things, if your import string overflows 80 columns, It's good idea to do this:
from gat import (
Node, SubNode, TopNode, SuperNode, CoolNode,
PowerNode, UpNode
)
The best strategy is to keep all of these imports on the top of the file. Preferrably ordered alphabetically, import -statements first, then from import -statements.
Now I tell you why this is the best convention.
Python could perfectly have had an automatic import, which'd look from the main imports for the value when it can't be found from global namespace. But this is not a good idea. I explain shortly why. Aside it being more complicated to implement than simple import, programmers wouldn't be so much thinking about the depedencies and finding out from where you imported things ought be done some other way than just looking into imports.
Need to find out depedencies is one reason why people hate "from ... import *". Some bad examples where you need to do this exist though, for example opengl -wrappings.
So the import definitions are actually valuable as defining the depedencies of the program. It is the way how you should exploit them. From them you can quickly just check where some weird function is imported from.
The import X as Y is useful if you have different implementations of the same module/class.
With some nested try..import..except ImportError..imports you can hide the implementation from your code. See lxml etree import example:
try:
from lxml import etree
print("running with lxml.etree")
except ImportError:
try:
# Python 2.5
import xml.etree.cElementTree as etree
print("running with cElementTree on Python 2.5+")
except ImportError:
try:
# Python 2.5
import xml.etree.ElementTree as etree
print("running with ElementTree on Python 2.5+")
except ImportError:
try:
# normal cElementTree install
import cElementTree as etree
print("running with cElementTree")
except ImportError:
try:
# normal ElementTree install
import elementtree.ElementTree as etree
print("running with ElementTree")
except ImportError:
print("Failed to import ElementTree from any known place")
I'm with Jason in the fact of not using
from X import *
But in my case (i'm not an expert programmer, so my code does not meet the coding style too well) I usually do in my programs a file with all the constants like program version, authors, error messages and all that stuff, so the file are just definitions, then I make the import
from const import *
That saves me a lot of time. But it's the only file that has that import, and it's because all inside that file are just variable declarations.
Doing that kind of import in a file with classes and definitions might be useful, but when you have to read that code you spend lots of time locating functions and classes.